We Stand, Fate-Tested
by The People Speak
Summary: It is currently 732 AU, and Byleth Eisner is an archaeology TA who just wants to write her thesis in peace, but she can't stop thinking about why everyone at the University looks so familiar. / Unification Year. Peace after war is never easy or simple. Byleth wasn't made for politics. - dimileth claudeleth
1. I - Garreg Mach

I - Garreg Mach

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 6 Horsebow Moon, 732 AU_

"Seteth, you know I'm only doing this because you asked me in a moment of weakness, right?" Byleth said as she strode alongside her professor.

He gave a short laugh. "Yes, of course. And also because you'd be out a supervisor if you didn't."

Byleth frowned but she kept pace. "Why couldn't you get one of your undergraduate students to do it?"

"Because, Miss Eisner, if I recall correctly, your area of study is a combined study between history and archaeology of the Unification Era of Fódlan, is it not?"

"Yes," Byleth admitted. "But, my own studies are busy enough, why do you assume I can teach as well?"

Seteth finally stopped and turned to look at her. "Byleth, you are one of the brightest students I have ever taught. I brought you on as a TA for this class because it will be an excellent experience for you, especially if you one day hope to be a professor in our department."

Byleth sighed and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. He made a good point. There was barely any archaeology funding anywhere so it was really in her best interest to commit to the faculty at Garreg Mach so they'd be more inclined to consider her for a permanent position in the future. It wasn't that she didn't want to be a TA, but that she was more concerned with juggling her own workload along with the TA work.

Seteth seemed satisfied that he had made his point as he pivoted and continued walking down the hallway. He stepped into one of the smaller lecture halls and Byleth followed him in. The classroom could seat about 50 people in a typical lecture seating style–a small classroom by university standings, but appropriate for a third-year archaeology course. Seteth immediately headed for the podium at the front of the theatre, pulling out his laptop to pull up the syllabus and his lecture slides for the first class. Byleth paused at the front briefly before she decided to head to the back, taking a seat in the back row where she was still present, but incognito enough.

After a couple of minutes, students began to pour in, chattering amongst each other. Byleth observed them quietly from her position at the back. There was a girl with long, smooth black hair who took a seat directly in the front row and immediately pulled out a laptop. A pair of boys, one with dark green hair and the other with silver, took seats near the back of the classroom and the green-haired boy almost immediately rested his head against the fold-out desk and looked like he was falling asleep.

Byleth recognized a few of the faces briefly, having glimpsed them in her own electives or around the archaeology offices. It certainly seemed like a colourful group of students. As seats filled up, as they always did on the first day of classes, Byleth became acutely aware of the fact that a student would likely be sitting next to her.

She pulled up the course outline on her laptop and focused on that, determined to look as unassuming as possible. She scrolled through it blindly as she had reviewed it weeks ago when Seteth had asked her for her contact information. Louder chatter around her caused her to look up as a group of five students had filed into the seats around her. Byleth scanned them briefly: a blonde girl, a redheaded boy, a dark-haired boy, a tanned boy with silver-white hair, and a blonde boy.

Her gaze caught briefly on the blonde boy, the one seated closest to her. He seemed oddly familiar, but she tore her gaze away quickly before anyone noticed she had been staring. Thankfully, at this time, Seteth cleared his throat at the front of the room. The cough echoed through the room thanks to the microphone and the chatter settled down.

"Welcome students," Seteth began. "This course, as I hope you're all aware, is Archaeology 356, Unification Era Archaeology. Our syllabus is available to download online as I'm sure many of you have already looked it over. My name is Seteth Cichol and I am the head of the Archaeology department here at Garreg Mach. I am also a professor for the History department. My contact information and office hours are available in the syllabus."

There was a brief pause as Seteth scrolled down the page to show his office hours. All through the classroom, there was the clicking of keyboards and the scratching of pens as students recorded the days and times. After a moment, Seteth was satisfied with the time he had given and he moved on.

"I'm also honoured to introduce our TA for this class, Miss Byleth Eisner."

Byleth tensed at the sound of her name as Seteth pointed up at her. A sea of faces turned to look at her and there was a ripple of whispers across the room. Byleth smiled politely and waved. Seteth barely paused, continuing on to explain her own contact information and office hours before launching into the depth of the course outline. Almost all of the students turned their attention back to the front, but Byleth noticed that one student who was sitting three rows in front of her kept glancing back her way.

She made eye contact with him once, but there was a curious intensity in his deep green eyes that made her uncomfortable, so she looked away, trying to refocus on Seteth at the front of the room. There was something familiar about him too, and it unnerved her a bit. She couldn't place exactly why she knew him, but his face was definitely familiar. She didn't look back at him for the rest of the 50-minute lecture, but she could feel his gaze on her at times.

When Seteth dismissed class, Byleth closed her laptop and slid it back into her bag. The group of students in her row had filed out and were hovering awkwardly in the aisle as she stood to leave. Byleth gave them a polite smile and headed down the stairs to the front of the room. She paused at the podium where Seteth was speaking with the dark-haired girl that had been the first one into the classroom.

Seteth paused his conversation to give her a farewell nod and Byleth took that as permission to leave and she headed for the door. She had almost left the room when someone touched her arm to catch her attention. Byleth turned to her left sharply and saw the young man that had stared at her during the lecture.

"Hi," he greeted with a casual grin. Up close, Byleth immediately noted the trickster-edge to his smile and the glint in his eyes. He was certainly attractive with mussed dark hair and the faintest line of scruff along his jaw, but he looked like trouble. "It's Byleth, right?" he asked.

Byleth nodded and shifted her weight. She stepped to the side so she wasn't blocking the doorway to the classroom to let other students out. The student stepped with her so they were still side-by-side. "Yes, that's me," she assented.

He held out a hand for her to shake. "I'm Claude Rahan." She shook his hand and he continued. "Are you Dr. Cichol's new grad student? In all my classes with the man, I don't think I've ever seen you around."

"Yes," Byleth admitted. "I'm starting my Masters this year." Her mind caught on something he had mentioned. "You've taken Seteth's classes before?"

Claude's smile slipped into a smirk. "Yeah, I've taken a couple of archaeology courses to fill elective space. I'm a history major though, which is how I ended up taking those archaeology courses in the first place since I liked Dr. Cichol's lecture style."

Byleth nodded. As an undergrad, Seteth had been her favourite professor as well. His lectures were clear, well-organized and interesting. He had never been late, had marked fairly, and had been extremely helpful and knowledgeable both in class and in his office hours. It wasn't hard to see why he was the head of the Archaeology department and a well-known prof in the history department as well.

"Claude!" a new voice called and both Byleth and Claude turned to see a young woman approaching them, her eyebrows knit suspiciously. "Are you bothering our TA?"

Claude sized up the young woman who had approached and laughed. "Come on Edel, I'm just making conversation. Getting a position as a grad student with Dr. Cichol can't be easy, so I was just curious."

The woman sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned to face Byleth and held out a slender hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Eisner. I am Edelgard von Hosch."

Byleth shook her hand. Edelgard had interesting eyes as well. Where Claude's were curious and playful, Edelgard's violet eyes were sharp and assessing. She had ashy brown hair that was pulled back from her face and the sharp angles of her features were very familiar to Byleth. It took her a moment to connect the familiarity of Edelgard's name as well as her face.

"You're the Prime Minister's daughter," she replied dumbly.

Edelgard winced and Claude laughed. "She's got you there, Edel," Claude teased.

Edelgard shrugged. "Yes, though here at the university I'm just another political science major."

Byleth's brow furrowed. Claude was a history major who had some previous experience with archaeology, but she didn't know why a political science major would be taking a third-year archaeology course. Edelgard seemed to recognize the confusion on Byleth's face and she laughed lightly.

"As for why I'm venturing into other disciplines, that can be blamed on Dimitri's sentimentality and Claude's lack of flexibility with his schedule," Edelgard explained.

"You see," Claude continued, "when three people who have been running in the same social circles since we were children all end up at the same university, it's natural for us to want to take a course together, but when I'm the one with very little flexibility in the courses I can take with my major and potential minor, I end up dragging a political science student as well as," Claude paused and gestured to the student that Seteth was currently speaking with, the blonde that had sat near Byleth during the lecture, "a business major into an archaeology class."

Byleth was still staring at the blonde boy when he finished his conversation with Seteth and turned towards her. They made eye contact and he gave her a warm smile. Byleth immediately broke eye contact and dropped her gaze back to Claude and Edelgard.

"That's Dimitri," Edelgard explained. "Dimitri Blethen. And while what Claude says is true, it's not worth being late to my next class over." She nodded politely to Byleth. "It was nice to meet you, Miss Eisner."

Edelgard left, sweeping past them and out of the classroom. Claude didn't move as he rocked back onto his heels, assessing her. Byleth raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you have more classes to get to?"

"Nah, I'm done for the day."

"Oh," Byleth replied awkwardly. Claude's smirk twitched at her reply and she fought off the urge to roll her eyes. "Well," she glanced at her watch, "I have some papers that won't read themselves so I should get going. I guess I'll see you in Tutorial, Claude."

He nodded. "You will." Byleth turned to leave, but he called out one last comment to her. "You look like her, you know."

Byleth froze and turned back to look at him. His chin was tipped to the side and he was giving her a lazy smile. Despite his nonchalance, Byleth easily caught the intelligent glint in his green eyes. She frowned at him.

"I look like who?"

"The Guardian of Order. Surely you've seen the tapestries, right? I mean, your Masters studies are on the mystery of her disappearance, so surely you've done your background research."

Byleth's frown deepened. He knew her area of interest which only could have meant that he had looked her up on the archaeology department's list of ongoing projects during class. She was indeed studying the disappearance of the Guardian of Order in the years after the Unification Act and she had indeed seen the Almyran tapestries depicting the Guardian's image. They had mostly faded after time, but thanks to the 101 AU Scorch of Garreg Mach, they were the only remaining physical depictions of the Guardian.

"It's been mentioned before," she said coolly and Claude's grin widened.

Seteth was the one originally who had pointed out Byleth's likeness in the portraits of the woman. Byleth tried to tell herself that it was just in the hair and eye colour–mint green–as well as the stature of confidence. Realistically, she saw many more comparisons between herself and the depictions, but it was more than likely that the tapestries showed more artistic freedom and liberty than the true appearance of the Guardian. It was for that reason that the Parliament of Fódlan had not requested their retrieval from Almyra to be added to the Royal Collection.

"It's uncanny, if I do say so myself," Claude added. With one last smile, he brushed past her and out of the classroom, leaving Byleth feeling unsettled and a little perplexed.

He was certainly a character.

* * *

Four hours later, when Byleth was working through a case on artifacts recovered near the old Fhirdiad capital, she was having trouble focusing. She was still stuck on Claude and the way he had so easily challenged her, having looked up her area of expertise. His familiarity was also still bothering her.

Byleth sighed and minimized the window containing the paper she was reading. She opened a new tab and stared blankly at the search bar. Fair is fair, she reasoned to herself and typed Claude's name into the search bar. Almost immediately she returned almost 60 million search results and she blinked, shocked, as her eyes focused on the top profile.

It was a news article about Almyra-Fódlan relations that had a subheader that had caught the attention of her query. Most of the article was the typical description of Almyra and Fódlan's contentious relationship, but part of it mentioned that the grandson of one of Almyra's ambassadors was attending Garreg Mach University. There was a picture attached to the article as well and Byleth zeroed in on the three familiar figures in the shot.

It was a photo of Claude, Edelgard, and Dimitri. They looked a few years younger than they had in lecture earlier, and Byleth studied it curiously. The three of them were standing inside what looked like one of the Parliament buildings in Fhirdiad. Claude was grinning, Edelgard was frowning, and Dimitri looked exasperated. Byleth's eyes drifted to the caption of the photo and she read it aloud.

"Claude Rahan, grandson to Almyran ambassador Oswald Rigaud, pictured with Edelgard von Hosch, daughter of Prime Minister Ionius von Hosch, and Dimitri Blethen, son of late Prime Minister Lambert Blethen."

Byleth blinked at the screen. So while Edelgard was the daughter of the current Prime Minister of Fódlan, Claude was the grandson of an Almyran ambassador and Dimitri also had familial connections to Fódlan's parliament. Byleth remembered the Disaster well enough. Four years ago, while on a diplomatic visit to the Duscur region, a vehicle crash had killed the Prime Minister at the time, Lambert Blethen, his wife, and the son of a cabinet minister while severely injuring the Prime Minister's son.

If Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude were all connected to the government of Fódlan, it would explain why she had found all of their faces so familiar. Still, doubt prickled in her mind because it felt like she knew them from somewhere else and not just because they had famous parents. Their voices, their faces, and their mannerisms were eerily familiar and even thinking about it was going to give her a headache.

She closed the article and pulled up the paper she had been skimming through again. The artifact she had been reading about was a ceramic piece that was thought to be from a collection in the royal palace in Fhirdiad that was recovered after the violence in 102 AU that had destroyed most of the belongings of the late Saviour King and the Guardian of Order. Apparently the piece was definitely not Fódlani in creation and it was speculated that it had been a gift from Almyra due to the remaining paint decals on it.

Byleth enlarged a photo of the piece and squinted at it. The designs were definitely not any that she recognized from her previous studies of formerly royal artifacts. It was difficult to tell based on the photo whether the speculation about their Almyran origins had any weight to it, but the argument read coherently enough that it could have been true.

She was about to save the image to her drive when the caption on it caught her attention again. She highlighted it and stared at it for a moment. She scrolled up to stare at the image again and exhaled sharply. Before she could do anything else, the lab door swung open and Byleth snapped her head up.

Seteth raised an eyebrow at her as he walked in, draping his jacket over the back of one of the chairs by the door. "Anything interesting today?"

Byleth shifted, rotating her monitor, and beckoned her supervisor over. "This piece, here, supposedly was a part of a royal collection in Fhirdiad, but it was recovered below Garreg Mach five years ago."

Seteth leaned over her shoulder and studied the photo. "Five years ago would have been around the same time the last excavation to the underbelly of the old monastery was."

Byleth looked up at the professor. "This wouldn't, by chance, be related to that expedition you've been petitioning for this year, would it?"

Seteth hummed. "Certainly, if its recovery location is accurate, I believe we would have a reason to add you to my excavation team."

Byleth smiled. "Really?"

"Really," Seteth affirmed. "Since this connects so directly to your area of study, having your expertise on the expedition would be valuable. I'm sure that I can throw this to the board to get the funding to have you paid for it and everything."

Byleth hugged Seteth. "Thank you!"

Seteth had been planning a new trip to the crypts below Garreg Mach for several years and Byleth had desperately wanted to be on the team that would do the fieldwork. As a new Masters student, she had originally not been included on the list as priority was given to the PhDs and Fellows above her. Byleth had been digging deep in her studies on the Guardian of Order to find something that would give Seteth a reason to invite her onto the expedition team, beyond the fact that he had been friends with her father and that she was one of his favourite students.

Seteth reached for her mouse and scrolled up, briefly skimming the rest of the article. "This is about the old royal collection?" he asked.

Byleth nodded. "Mostly about the pieces that were able to be recovered that are mostly intact. This one caught my eye mostly because it doesn't look Fódlani."

Seteth studied the image. "Well, hopefully, this is enough to get you that spot we've been hoping for." He smiled at her and Byleth felt warm down to her core. "Well done, Byleth."

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 14 Horsebow Moon, Unification Year_

After Enbarr, it had taken several days before everyone was fit for travel back to Garreg Mach. Gilbert and a few others had pushed for Dimitri to return immediately to Fhirdiad, but he ignored them and instead chose to see the Knights of Seiros and his companions back to Garreg Mach. Byleth had been glad for his company, especially because she still worried over the wound he received from Edelgard at the end of their confrontation.

Still, in the few days that they'd been back at the monastery, she had seen him in the goddess tower for a brief period of time before their chaotic duties had summoned them into a whirlwind of work again. As Byleth sat through a meeting with Seteth and some other church officials, she touched the ring Dimitri had given her distractedly.

The silver of it was cool against her skin and still felt foreign. She kept her hands below the table as a few of the higher up monks and knights relayed their reports for the day. Rhea was still resting to recover from her imprisonment in Enbarr, but it seemed like everyone already knew that Byleth was set to become the next archbishop. Additionally, it didn't appear that there was going to be any delay in the shift of loyalty over to Byleth, a fact which made her slightly uncomfortable.

Seteth asked her something and Byleth blinked, realizing that her attention had drifted and she had lost the frame of the conversation entirely. She spun Dimitri's ring on her finger and asked Seteth to repeat himself.

"Nevermind, Your Grace," he said instead. "We're all tired so we should resume this discussion tomorrow when we've all had some rest."

Byleth tried not to slump in her seat in relief. There was some brief chatter as most of the monks and knights made their way out of the room, casting the occasional glance back in Byleth's direction. Seteth and Flayn lingered and Byleth remained seated. She knew Seteth wanted to speak with her so there was no real use in avoiding him, especially considering she had just spent three days doing that.

"I'll leave you two to talk, then," Flayn said finally, once the rest of the room had emptied. She squeezed Seteth's shoulder on her way out and swept out of the room.

Byleth watched her go. Flayn's youth was startlingly preserved despite the five long years they'd been at war. It made her wonder about more than a few things.

"Byleth," Seteth said, drawing her attention. "I know you were avoiding me and then today you were so distracted you might as well have been absent from these meetings. I know you've never been the most faithful, but the Church of Seiros will be instrumental in assisting His Majesty in the rebuilding and reunification of Fódlan."

Byleth raised her hands and rubbed at her temples. "I know," she admitted. "I'm sorry, Seteth, I know how much work you and Flayn have been doing for me. I appreciate it, I hope you know that."

Seteth chuckled. "Your appreciation is noted, Byleth." He sounded like he had more to say, but no words came forth so Byleth dropped her hands and looked at him. Seteth was staring at her with an expression on his face that was a mix of surprise and disbelief.

"Seteth?" Byleth ventured. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" she prompted after a moment when he didn't reply.

Seteth blinked hard and let his brows draw his expression into a frown. "When did you start wearing that ring?"

The ring in question burned against her finger as she looked at it, surprised. Her response caught in her throat and she looked from the silver ring to Seteth's still surprised and worried expression. When her tongue finally loosened, she was able to reply.

"Three days," she admitted. It was exactly as long as she had been avoiding Seteth. Despite the fact that she and Dimitri had been wearing the rings out and about, they had yet to come right out and tell anyone though she knew that, at the very least, Mercedes, Dedue, Sylvain, Felix, and Ingrid had all noticed that either Byleth or Dimitri was wearing a new piece of jewelry.

Seteth sat back down. He stroked his beard idly and let out a sigh. "Should I even have to ask?"

Byleth studied Seteth. Like Flayn, he looked like he hadn't aged a day in the five years he spent rallying the knights in search of Rhea. Still, sitting next to her in the Cardinals' Room at Garreg Mach he looked as tired as Byleth felt.

"Dimitri," Byleth said finally.

Seteth nodded like he had guessed as much and ran a hand through his hair. "Congratulations," he said gently.

Byleth smiled warily. She spun the ring again and studied it. "Seteth, if I asked you, would you be entirely honest with me?"

"I suppose," he replied after a moment.

Byleth looked up and saw that he had knit his hands on the table. He looked more uncomfortable now than she had seen him in a long time.

"What did Rhea do to me?"

Her question caught him off guard and he visibly recoiled, his chair squeaking against the stone as it pushed back. He worked his jaw for a moment, trying to come up with a satisfactory reply to her question.

"You're sure this question needs answering, are you?"

Byleth pursed her lips. "I am stepping up to lead Rhea's former church. I am a unifying force on this continent that is still teetering on the knife's edge. And," she paused, looking pointedly at her hand, "I am no longer on my own."

Seteth sighed heavily. "I understand," he replied. "You deserve to know, but first I should tell you the truth of our origins–Rhea's and mine and Flayn's."

Seteth told her of the Nabateans and the children of Sothis and the truth of Nemesis. He described the truth of Zanado and how Rhea–Seiros–had grieved the loss of her mother, the progenitor god. He explained Rhea's efforts to revive her mother, including the attempt that resulted in Sitri, Byleth's mother.

Byleth tensed at the name. It was unfamiliar to her as Jeralt never spoke of her mother, but it tugged on something deep in her chest regardless. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She felt a sudden and unwanted swell of emotions at the thought of the mother she never got to know.

Thankfully, Seteth ignored Byleth's emotional response and continued his explanation, describing Jeralt's relationship with Sitri and how it had resulted in a child. Byleth's breath caught audibly as he then described, as he knew it, what Rhea had done in implanting Byleth with the Crest Stone of the Sword of the Creator to save her life.

Byleth's palm flattened against her chest and she exhaled deeply. "Rhea didn't want me. She didn't want me to be alive. She just wanted Sothis back."

Seteth pressed his lips together because he couldn't truly argue with her statement. Byleth stood from her chair and paced towards the window. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and shook her head.

"Where is Rhea?" she asked, looking back at Seteth for a moment.

Before Seteth could reply, there was a knock at the door that drew their attention. Both soon-to-be-Archbishop and advisor turned to the door and took in the hulking frame of the now-King of Fódlan, Dimitri. His broad shoulders took up the entire doorway, even though he was without his heavy mantle. Byleth's chest tugged in his direction as she took him in.

Dimitri seemed to note the tension in the room and looked between Byleth and Seteth uncomfortably. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I was hoping for a word with the Archbishop."

Byleth almost sent him away so that she could get the rest of the story out of Seteth, but Seteth stood before she could say anything. She bit her tongue as her advisor made his way to the doorway. Next to Dimitri's tall frame, Seteth looked small.

"Congratulations on your engagement, Your Majesty," Seteth said before he slid past Dimitri and disappeared into the hallway.

Dimitri watched him go before turning to Byleth and raising the eyebrow over his good eye. "Beloved, I didn't know you had told him."

Byleth laughed lightly and crossed the room to stand in front of her fiancé. She looked up at him, pressing her palms against his chest. Dimitri's hair was pulled back out of his face, leaving a few strands to fall over his forehead. It was a stylish, polished look that she had not seen him wear before. It suited him.

"Seteth is observant, my love," she replied, tapping a fingertip against the ring on her left hand. Dimitri's expression morphed into recognition. She reached up to brush at some of his hair. "This is new," she commented.

Dimitri chuckled. "Yes, Felix said he was either going to fix it or cut it, so we settled on this."

Byleth hummed appreciatively. One of her hands slid along Dimitri's jaw and down over his neck until it rested on his shoulder and the other stayed on his chest over his heart. He lifted a hand and picked up the one over his heart, bringing it to his mouth and kissing her palm.

Byleth laughed and gently pulled her hand down, twisting it so they held hands instead. "Has Gilbert been after you today about returning to Fhirdiad?"

Dimitri huffed. "Unfortunately. Thankfully, Ingrid has come up with a new reason for me to stay for a while longer."

"She has?"

Dimitri stepped back into the hallway, tugging her along with him by the hand. She followed, keeping pace, as they let their joined hands dangle between them.

"Apparently, it used to be a tradition that the rulers of Faerghus were crowned here at the monastery instead of in the capital. My great-grandfather changed that when he was crowned in Fhirdiad, but Ingrid pointed out that it may come across as a gesture of both tradition and unity if I was to be crowned, officially, here."

Byleth was surprised. Truth be told, she did not know much about Faerghus customs, but she agreed with Ingrid's logic: crowning the king at the monastery would be seen as a unifying gesture due to the importance of the church to the unification effort and the war. Plus, it gave her an excuse to spend more time with Dimitri before they were both pulled so completely into their work that it would consume them.

"So how long have you bought us?"

"Another month," Dimitri said. "Possibly more if we choose to announce our engagement sometime in that time period since we will have the excuse of wedding planning."

Byleth nodded. "I suppose we'll be expected to have a big wedding, won't we?"

Dimitri paused in his stride and looked down at her. "What would you prefer, Beloved?"

Byleth looked away a bit shyly. "I am not one for crowds as you know. I would be happy to have our Blue Lions and a few of our other close friends in a small ceremony. I know, however," she added, "that that dream is unlikely considering both of our stations." She shook her head ruefully. "I have not even ascended officially as Archbishop and already I feel as if everything has changed here."

Dimitri dropped her hand to place his hands on either side of her waist. His hands were warm and comforting as he rubbed them up and down. Byleth leaned forward until her head rested against his chest. He shifted against her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I hope nothing between us has changed, at least," he murmured gently.

"No," Byleth assured. "Nothing will change between us as long as I have anything to say about it."

Her left hand reached for his and she covered his with her own where it rested at the base of her ribcage. The rings they exchanged were touching and Byleth tried to convey everything she felt for Dimitri–love, adoration, pride, and trust–through the simple touch. With him here, solid and warm and alive, she had never felt more grateful for anything since she learned that each of her students had survived the final confrontation in Enbarr.

After a moment, Dimitri leaned away and lifted a hand to guide her chin up so she was looking into his eye. "What were you and Seteth speaking about when I interrupted?"

Byleth frowned unintentionally. "Rhea," she admitted. "And," she found his hand as she spoke, guiding it over her still chest, "this."

Dimitri waited for a moment with his palm pressed against her shirt before his eye widened and his lips parted. "Beloved, why do you not have a heartbeat?"

Byleth exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. "Rhea," she replied simply. Dimitri didn't reply, but she knew he wasn't satisfied with her explanation. She opened her eyes to acknowledge his questioning look. "I do not understand everything myself," she admitted. "If I knew, you would know," she assured him.

Dimitri relaxed a little and dropped his hand back to his side, hesitating before reaching for hers. Byleth tangled their fingers again and pulled him towards the dining hall. "Come now, love, we should find our way to the dining hall. It was Dedue's turn to cook today so I'm sure whatever he made won't last long."

Dimitri chuckled, but let her pull him down the hallway in the monastery. The late afternoon sun warmed Byleth and with Dimitri's hand in hers, she felt content and prepared to face the chaos that was sure to follow a five-year war.

* * *

_Author's Note: Alright, so Fire Emblem is ruling all of my motivation (and Critical Role) so I've somehow ended up starting another massive Fire Emblem fic. No promises on the next update, but I figured by posting this I'd be forcing myself to continue writing it and to finish it eventually._

_I'm on Tumblr as nicolewrites and AO3 as nicole_writes_


	2. II - In Circles We Tread

II - In Circles We Tread

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 14 Horsebow Moon, 732 AU_

Byleth arrived at the classroom where her tutorial section was meeting ten minutes early. She was hoping that whatever class had the room before her would be done early so that she could set up her laptop and her review slides for the session. Fortunately, there didn't appear to have been a class in the room so she was able to enter as soon as she arrived.

Byleth was in the midst of setting up her laptop with the tangled, university-supplied cables when her first student arrived. It was the same girl with straight, dark hair that had been the first student to arrive in the lecture the week before. She approached the front desk and smiled at Byleth.

Byleth paused in her set up. "Hi," she greeted.

"Hello, Miss Eisner," the girl replied. "My name is Lysithea."

Byleth nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Lysithea. You're a bit early, but please, have a seat wherever you'd like."

The girl nodded and sat right in the front row. She pulled out a laptop and began tapping away at the keyboard. Byleth went back to setting up her presentation as more students trickled in. She recognized the boy with green hair, half of the group of students that had sat near her in lecture, as well as Claude and Dimitri. Claude took a seat in the back, flanked by a girl with bright pink hair and a boy with purple hair and expensively styled clothes while Dimitri sat with the friends he had sat with in lecture.

Byleth finished setting up her slides and glanced at the clock. It was one minute before 1:30, when the tutorial was supposed to begin so she stood up, assessing her class. Her tutorial section had half the class and Seteth ran the tutorial with the other half. As it was the first tutorial of the section, attendance was at almost, or entirely, full capacity, something which likely wouldn't continue throughout the whole semester.

"Hi everyone," she greeted when the clock finally ticked over to 1:30. The chatter in the room mostly died out and all the curious faces turned to face her. A bead of nervousness pricked in her chest, but she smiled and forced it down. "As I'm sure you guys know, I'm Byleth Eisner and I'll be your TA for this class. I'm leading this tutorial section, Tutorial 2, and Dr. Cichol leads Tutorial 1."

She leaned down and moved to the first slide in her slideshow which was a trio of pictures. The first was Byleth and Seteth working in a lab doing hands-on analysis of artifacts. The second was a shot of Byleth posing with her undergrad thesis team at Shambhala where they had done an expedition. The last photo was Byleth in the Main Hall of the university as she presented her undergraduate thesis.

"I'm in my first year of my Masters here at Garreg Mach University with a specialization in Unification Era Archaeology focused on the Guardian of Order. I did my undergraduate degree here and graduated with a combined honours in Archaeology and History. Dr. Cichol is currently my Masters supervisor which is why I'm here as your TA."

There were a few murmurs across the class as people assessed her qualifications. Byleth ignored them and moved to her next slide which held a photo of the ancient sword that was rumoured to have been wielded by the Guardian of Order. They had discussed it in lecture since it was one of very few relics from the Unification Era that hadn't been lost to looters or fire. However, since it was still early in the semester, they'd looked at the blade objectively, not as a relic wielded by the Guardian.

"Archaeology is the study of material remains of humans and societies. In our first class we talked about the first step of working with artifacts: description, classification, and analysis. The next step is the placement of an artifact within its historical context. If we take this image here, can someone give me a description for it?" She gestured to the screen and the image of the sword. "And, for the first few classes if you can just say your name beforehand so I can get to know everyone, that would be much appreciated."

The blonde girl sitting with Dimitri raised her hand and Byleth nodded. "I'm Ingrid," the girl introduced, brushing her braid back over her shoulder. "The first step would be to identify the weapon as an ancient blade, likely a longsword. It appears to be made of some kind of bone or clay material due to its lack of metallic qualities."

Byleth nodded. "Excellent, thank you Ingrid. Now, can someone give me a guess about the historical context of the blade based off of that?"

Lysithea, the girl who had been early for class, raised her hand. "Given the design of the blade and its recovery location, this is likely a blade that had been used in the Unification War. Due to appearance, it is likely that the blade was used by a highly ranked soldier, officer, or commander. It fell to disuse probably after the fire in 101 and 102 AU."

Byleth nodded and was about to commend Lysithea when Claude raised his hand. She raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to speak.

Claude was leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head as he made steady eye contact with Byleth. "Maybe I just know this as a History major, but that blade fell to disuse before the Great Fire of Garreg Mach. It would have been around 9 AU that it was no longer wielded. It's structure greatly resembles the other legendary weapons of the time known as 'Relics'."

Byleth appraised Claude. He was correct, of course, but it had taken her a lot of research to actually find the year when the Guardian was reported to have disappeared, leaving her legendary blade to the Royal Collection. "That is correct, Claude," she agreed. "This sword," she paused to continue the presentation on her laptop which let the label pop up on the screen, "is known to us as the Guardian's Blade, the weapon that was wielded by the Guardian of Order in the Unification War."

There were a few more jumbled murmurs around the room as students processed what she was saying.

"Pardon me, Miss Eisner," the green-haired boy said, raising a hand, "if you're saying this weapon is one of the Relics, why was it recovered separately from the rest of the ancient weapons?"

"That's an excellent question," she trailed off, gesturing for the student to give his name.

"Linhardt."

"Linhardt," Byleth repeated. "In the year 7 AU, after the death of the Saviour King, the Guardian of Order called for the collection of the Relics to be displayed as artifacts and historical trophies instead of used as weapons. It has never been confirmed, but historians have theorized that since the Guardian of Order disappeared just under a year after her husband's passing, she took her blade with her when she vanished. The discovery of the sword here at Garreg Mach is one of the biggest mysteries regarding her disappearance."

At the back of the classroom, Claude's friends were whispering, but Claude's green eyes were fixed sharply on Byleth as she explained. Byleth tried to ignore him as she continued to field questions as well as offer her own discussion questions. The rest of the 50-minute section passed relatively quickly, but right until the end, Byleth could have sworn that Claude didn't take his eyes off of her.

At 2:20, Byleth concluded the discussion and dismissed class, saying she would see everyone back the next week. Conversations broke out and people started packing up. She unplugged her laptop from the projector and started putting away her own things. She slid her laptop into her bag and looked up when someone cleared their throat in front of the podium. Byleth found Claude smirking at her, his hands wrapped around the straps of his backpack.

"Good discussion," he complimented.

"Thank you," Byleth replied. She still felt on edge around Claude. There was something about him that was so infuriatingly familiar and she just couldn't figure out what it was because it certainly wasn't just because he was the son of an ambassador.

"Combined honours with History, hm?" he continued. "Sounds familiar."

Byleth rolled her eyes but smiled faintly. "Yes, it appears we have similar interests." She contemplated something for a moment before she pushed forward with it: "Have you taken a lot of courses in Unification Era history?"

Claude shrugged. "I took 234 and I'm currently in 316."

Byleth had taken both of those courses herself. History 234 was the Unification War History course and History 316 was History of the Unification Years. Neither was particularly heavy in information about the Guardian of Order and the Guardian's Blade, topics Claude had already proved himself knowledgeable in.

"Is knowing everything just a hobby then?" she asked.

Claude laughed this time. "If I knew everything I don't think I'd be in your class, Teach."

The nickname caught her off guard and she blinked dumbly at him for a moment. Claude seemed to recognize his blunder and he winced.

"Ah, sorry if that was weird, it just felt right."

Byleth bit her lip and shook her head. "It's fine, really," she assured. In all honesty, the nickname had felt fitting and familiar. It was weird.

"Anyways, I don't suppose there's any way we could sit down and talk about your thesis, is there? I'm incredibly curious about the research that you've been doing," Claude continued after a short cough.

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "I have office hours and my email is on the course outline," she replied flatly.

Claude laughed. "Yes, but your office hours will be filled with students with academic, course-related questions. Email, also, doesn't have the same personal touch as a face-to-face conversation."

Byleth sighed. "Look, Claude, I'm your TA, I don't know what you want me to say."

He held up his hands innocently. "I've just got questions about your Masters, surely that's an innocent enough intention? What about Thursday afternoon at the coffee shop in the student centre?"

Byleth considered it for a moment. There was nothing in her contract that said she couldn't get coffee with someone who was interested in her academic projects and if she managed to convince Claude to pursue a graduate degree in her field after graduation, she knew Seteth wouldn't care about the nature of their conversation.

She sized up Claude and folded her arms. "I'll meet you at Anna's at 4 on Thursday," she consented.

Claude's smirk widened and he nodded. "I look forward to it, Teach."

With one last cheeky wink, Claude strode away and headed for the door where his two friends had lingered, waiting for him. Byleth watched him for a moment before she resumed packing up her things. She slid her attendance sheet into her folder and placed it in her bag.

"Miss Eisner," a new voice interrupted.

Byleth shook her head and looked up. "Byleth, please."

Dimitri, standing in front of her desk, gave her a small smile. "Byleth," he agreed. "I hope Claude wasn't bothering you. He's a strong personality."

Byleth laughed lightly and smiled. "No, no, he was just asking about my area of study. I'm happy to talk about it. I wouldn't be studying it if I wasn't."

Dimitri looked relieved. "That's good to hear. You're certainly interesting to listen to in tutorial. You know your stuff." He scratched the back of his neck. "Admittedly, I'm feeling a bit out of my depth in this class."

Byleth nodded. "That's understandable, but really, I don't think you have anything to worry about. You've got some smart classmates, if today was any indication, and both Dr. Cichol and I have office hours reserved for this class section so feel free to come to either of us if you need anything."

Dimitri nodded. "Yes, thank you very much." Someone called his name from by the door and he turned to walk away, pausing once to give her a last goodbye.

Byleth pulled her bag up onto her shoulder and bit her lip. Dimitri and Claude and Edelgard were so familiar that it hurt her to think about them. Even so, she had a job to do and a meeting with Seteth to get to. She strode out of the classroom, fishing her tangled headphones out of her pocket.

* * *

Seteth placed a new folder on the desk between them, gesturing for her to take a look. Byleth slid it towards herself and opened it. It was a stack of about five pieces of paper and the first was an email between Seteth and the Fhirdiad National Museum of Unification that was set to sponsor the expedition below Garreg Mach.

Byleth scanned the email and grinned when she found the phrase she was looking for. "On behalf of the Board of Directors here at the museum, we consent to allow Miss Byleth Eisner a position on the Garreg Mach Research Team to assist with her academic development," she read aloud.

Seteth was smiling. "Keep reading."

"In the interest of the success of the dig, funding has also been secured for an additional team of researchers to join you on this endeavour. The idea is to have undergraduate students join you to develop practical archaeological skills." Byleth stopped reading abruptly and looked up at Seteth. "Let me get this straight: you not only got approval for me to join, but now they want us to take on a group of undergrads?"

Seteth nodded, knitting his fingers together atop his desk. "I think this will be an interesting opportunity for them." He reached for the file, pushing Byleth's hands away and pulling the documentation back towards him. "The expedition is set to begin next year, in the Guardian Moon of the new semester. I was thinking that we would extend this opportunity to the students currently in Archaeology 356. That way we have a semester to evaluate the students so we can choose ones we think will be beneficial, not hindering, to the studies."

Byleth nodded slowly. "Yeah, that makes sense. Still, this kind of opportunity for undergraduates means everyone will want in. I know I would have when I was in my third year."

"I'm going to put an announcement up on my website about the opportunity and discuss it next class. I was hoping you would be able to design some kind of application form so that we can immediately narrow down our options."

Byleth slid her laptop out of her bag and opened a blank document. "What kind of questions were you thinking for the application?"

Seteth pondered for a moment before he answered: "Ask about any experience they have, and how many prior archaeology or history credits they have. I would also like to know about their own interpretation of the Unification Era, since that's what this is all about."

"If I asked what they think is a major, lasting influence of the Unification Era on current Fódlani politics?"

Seteth smiled. "I like that."

"How many students can we take?"

Seteth flipped through papers briefly to find the definite answer. "We can take ten, but that's too many. I think eight is an appropriate number."

Byleth noted that down and she tapped out a few more rough questions. "I assume we'll do a vetting process with the written applications and then call the best candidates for interviews with the rest of our dig team, right?"

"Yes," Seteth agreed. "It's important that they meet and can get along with the rest of the team because they are an addition to the team that is meant to help their skills, not hinder the results of our expedition. Too many people have put too much effort into this for it to fail now."

Byleth knew why Seteth was nervous because the last time someone had led a dig under the university, it had fallen apart just a few weeks after it began. Byleth paused and exhaled slowly. "Seteth, this might be overstepping, but I want to ask about my father." Seteth tensed and Byleth swallowed her nervousness before continuing. "I know he was a part of the last research expedition to the underside of Garreg Mach five years ago. I know he pulled out of the project part-way through and that the project fell through after he withdrew. What are we going to find down there that caused my father to pull out so suddenly?"

Seteth stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Byleth, are you asking me if I know why your father was killed?"

"No," she said firmly. "He was stabbed five years ago. That's unrelated to his work. I'm asking you why the excavation couldn't continue without my father."

"I honestly don't know," Seteth admitted. "I wasn't a member of that excavation team. It was led by a woman named Catherine Charon. Catherine cancelled further progress once your father withdrew his support. The excavation was privately funded by a private collector from Zanado and apparently the money stopped once your father left the project."

Byleth frowned. "My father was a security contractor, not an archaeologist. His withdrawal from the project should have just meant that they brought on someone else, not that they cancelled the dig entirely."

"I agree. It was something that I could never get Catherine to explain and she left the University that year before I could get a real answer out of her. Your father never liked to talk about it either, as I'm sure you know, and then he died just five months later."

Byleth sighed. "I've been through the site notes and the inventory of every artifact recorded as recovered. There are no mentions of what caused him to pull out or anything that might lend to the private donor withdrawing their support or Dr. Charon calling off the project."

Seteth studied her for a moment. "Does your interest in being part of this dig only have to do with your father?"

"No," Byleth assured. "I'm interested in what we might be able to recover and how it can support my thesis, but I won't say I'm not curious."

She closed her laptop and stood up from the desk. She pulled her bag up and prepared to head out of Seteth's office. "My father was a different man after that expedition than when he went into it. I do want to know why, and I don't want that to happen to anyone else, either, if I can help it."

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 21 Red Wolf Moon, Unification Year_

A knock at the door drew Byleth's attention and she turned in her seat to look at the entrance to her room. It was one of the monastery's monks who stood patiently in the doorway, waiting for permission to enter. Byleth waved her in and the monk bowed briefly before stepping in.

"Your Grace, I have received word from an advanced scout that His Majesty and the court will be arriving in the next few hours."

Byleth smiled faintly. "Thank you, but please, I'm not the Archbishop yet, so Professor or Byleth is more than fine."

The monk shook her head, but she was smiling as well. "With all due respect, you are ascending in rank tomorrow, Your Grace. You've been acting head of the church for several months as well." She bowed briefly once more before leaving the room, leaving Byleth alone again.

Byleth sighed and stood from her desk, heading towards her balcony. She pushed open the doors and stepped outside. The stone was cold against her bare feet and the air was chilly enough that she instantly shivered. Byleth looked up at the clear blue sky and twisted the ring on her finger thoughtfully.

After the war had ended, Dimitri had stayed for a month of negotiations with the church and for his coronation before his council of advisors had finally managed to get him to return to Fhirdiad. Byleth missed him dearly–him and Felix and Sylvain and Ingrid and Dedue who had returned with him. Annette and Ashe had stayed at the monastery for another couple of weeks before they too left for the capital, leaving Byleth with only Mercedes, Flayn, Seteth, and the Knights of Seiros.

She and Dimitri had announced their engagement officially on the day of his coronation, but all of their close friends had known much before that point. It had been just over a month now, since all the former Blue Lions had been in one place and even though part of Byleth was dreading her formal ascension to the head of the church, she was grateful for the opportunity it offered to gather her friends and allies in one place.

Of course, there was also the wedding that would follow Byleth's ascension. She and Dimitri had argued about the wedding for nearly two weeks since while they both wanted a smaller affair, Dimitri had been the only one willing to go through with a small event. Byleth knew that a private wedding would invite more scrutiny than the marriage of the church and the state already would. She also knew it would be important for Dimitri to use the wedding as a political event to continue to smooth relations with former Empire territories. Eventually, her argument had won out and they'd been thrown into planning the wedding of the century.

Byleth didn't linger too long on the balcony. The chill was going to get to her and she really couldn't afford to get sick with a few very important days ahead of her. She slipped back inside her chambers and moved to pull on a pair of slip-on shoes to chase away lingering chills. The ornate furniture and decorations in the room felt wrong to her. Three weeks after the war, Rhea had departed and Byleth had moved into the former archbishop's chambers.

Byleth ran her hand along the top of the dresser near the balcony and frowned. Being in Rhea's old room felt weird enough on its own, but the fact that Byleth had not gotten a moment alone with Rhea to ask about what Seteth had told her before the former archbishop had departed made her feel even more uncomfortable.

Seteth's words, and their implications, weighed on her daily. She had not managed to get another candid conversation with her advisor since that day two months ago. Flayn too, seemed to be avoiding Byleth or only approaching her when there were other people around. Byleth pulled her hand off the dresser and touched it to the left side of her chest. As always, there was no heartbeat beneath her palm and she exhaled wearily.

Another sharp knock on the door caused Byleth to jolt upright and snap her hand back to her side. This intruder was a much more welcome sight than the monk who had interrupted her earlier.

"Mercedes!" Byleth exclaimed as her friend stepped into the room.

"Hello Professor!" Mercedes replied cheerfully. "You look lovely," she complimented.

Byleth blinked and took in her own outfit. She was wearing one of the ceremonial dresses that had been commissioned for her, but it was nowhere near as high end as the dress she would be wearing for her ascension tomorrow. She smoothed her hands over the cream-coloured fabric and smiled softly.

"Thank you. What are you doing up here? I thought you were going to wait in the entrance hall for the others."

Mercedes laughed. "Well, Professor, we sent someone up to let you know they were almost here, but you never reappeared, so I decided to come fetch you myself."

"They're almost here?" Byleth repeated. When the monk had mentioned that they would be arriving in a few hours, she had not been expecting their arrival in the next half hour.

Mercedes's eyes were shining. "Their party had just been spotted entering the monastery grounds when I came up."

* * *

Standing outside the main entrance of the monastery, Byleth felt like her blood was singing. The first few riders of the party had just crossed into the marketplace of the monastery and already two of the riders were breaking in her direction. Above them, a pegasus whinnied and descended.

Sylvain and Felix, the first two riders, dismounted and covered the remaining distance on foot. Ingrid barely managed to get herself off of her pegasus before she was also breaking towards Byleth and Mercedes. Felix reached her first and he paused, forcing himself into a stiff bow. Byleth rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug. He didn't reciprocate immediately, but he did pat her back after a moment.

As soon as she released Felix, Sylvain pulled her into a tight hug. Sylvain was wearing more armour than Felix so the hug felt stiffer, but he was warm and solid against her and Byleth drank in his familiarity. She pulled away from Sylvain and turned to hug Ingrid as well. After she had hugged the last of the trio, Byleth stepped back and smiled broadly.

"Welcome back," she greeted.

Sylvain laughed. "Come on, Professor, we know we're not the ones you really want to see." He gestured behind him where the rest of the party was arriving including Ashe, Annette, Gustave, and Dedue.

Byleth's breath caught as she recognized the rider at the front of the pack. He seemed to have noticed her as well, practically leaping off of his mount and jogging towards her. Byleth brushed past her former students to move towards him, nearly tripping on her dress as she descended the steps. He was in front of her before she could trip, his hands gripping her forearms as he stared at her face. A dazzling smile cracked across Dimitri's expression and Byleth felt herself smile too.

"Hello, my beloved," Dimitri greeted gently.

"I missed you," Byleth said. She had intended for a more eloquent greeting, but her heart had won out and she had spoken the naked truth instead.

The life glimmering in Dimitri's good eye softened and he bent his head, pressing his forehead to hers. "I missed you too, Byleth," he murmured.

Byleth didn't get to reply before he was kissing her. Her hands framed his face as she kissed him back fiercely, pouring a month's worth of emotion into their reunion kiss. It wasn't the most proper or befitting of greetings for two authority figures, but it was the genuine, real reaction of two young people in love who had nearly lost each other in a brutal 5-year war. Finally–and unfortunately–Byleth had to pull away, breathing hard.

She laughed when Dimitri didn't let her pull far away and she felt her adoration for him cause tears to prickle at the corners of her eyes. She ran her thumb across his cheekbone and smiled warmly.

"I don't know if that was the most proper greeting," she teased.

Dimitri's laugh rumbled in his chest. "A man can be excused for missing his fiancé," Dimitri refuted and Byleth laughed again.

"Welcome back, my love," she said quietly. "It's good to see you."

"And I am always glad to see you," he replied. He looked past her towards the monastery where many of the clergy were gathered to watch his arrival. "I really have made a scene, haven't I?"

Byleth slipped her hand into his and tugged him back towards the monastery. "Come on, I want to hear about Fhirdiad. I want to hear from all of you. Surely we can spare an afternoon in the Blue Lion's classroom to reconnect?"

Dimitri followed her lead as they walked towards the monastery. "You'll get no complaints from me on that, but won't Seteth protest?"

Byleth huffed. "I am not Archbishop until tomorrow, but I do hope that he'll allow me this time with my friends before I saddle myself with responsibility for the rest of my life."

"I suppose I could busy myself with keeping our guests from Fhirdiad occupied," Seteth admitted, catching the end of Byleth's sentence as she and Dimitri rejoined the group gathered at the monastery's entrance. "Your Majesty, it is nice to see you, as always," her advisor added for pleasantness's sake.

Byleth beamed and pulled Dimitri past Seteth heading into the monastery. Their friends, including the rest of the Blue Lions plus Flayn, followed them as Byleth led the way. Byleth watched her friends as they walked, noting who was talking to who and the expressions on faces.

Dedue was listening intently to Mercedes as she spoke softly, Ashe was chatting with Flayn, Annette seemed to be having some kind of minimal conversation with Felix, and Ingrid and Sylvain were conversing in light and teasing tones. Byleth smiled to herself as she watched them and tightened her grip on Dimitri's hand unintentionally.

"You look satisfied, love, is there something you'd like to share?" Dimitri asked curiously.

Byleth laughed lightly. "I don't want to scare this away," she admitted, gently tilting her head in Felix and Annette's direction. Felix's ears were pink at the tips and Annette's cheeks had a rosy glow.

"Ah," Dimitri replied, his own lips twitching into a smile. "Well I could let it go, but I know Duke Fraldarius has been spending much more time in conversation with Baron Dominic."

Byleth squeezed his hand. "I wonder why that could be," she replied teasingly. "Perhaps the same reason why Ashe has been my best communicator with Brigid recently."

"Or why the son of the esteemed Margrave Gautier has taken to spending his time split between his own lands and the lands of Count Galatea," Dimitri replied, glancing over at his other childhood friends.

Byleth shook her head fondly. "I don't think our wedding will be the only one in the future, my love."

"No, I would be inclined to agree with you on that," Dimitri hummed.

Finally, their little group reached the room that used to be the Blue Lion's classroom. All of them stopped just outside the room as if none of them could make themselves set foot inside the room. After a moment of nothing, Byleth dropped Dimitri's hand and stepped forward across the threshold.

The monastery's reconstruction effort had obviously begun to move into areas like the classroom since all the furniture was righted and placed mostly back where it had been before the war. The bookshelves were emptier than they used to be, thanks to thieves, and Byleth's blackboard that had been used for lectures was leaning in two large, broken pieces against the rear wall.

Byleth moved towards it like a magnet and ran her fingers across the still chalk-dusted surface with a wistful smile on her face.

"This place feels like it was frozen in time," Sylvain said idly as he stepped in and moved towards the windows on the front wall.

Felix snorted. "I'm not sure that's how I'd describe it."

"You know, I don't think I've been here since the war ended," Ashe admitted.

Annette nodded. "Me either. I used to come here to work on things when everywhere else was crowded."

"We've shared a lot of memories in this place," Ingrid agreed. She walked curiously over to one of the bookshelves and pressed her fingers in the empty spaces between books.

"Will you get the Officer's Academy up and running again, Professor?" Dedue asked after a moment.

Byleth blinked and she realized that she honestly hadn't even considered it until that point. She had been focusing so much of her effort on unification campaigns and the physical and spiritual repairs to the church that she had almost forgotten it was once a school as well.

"I think we should try," Dimitri answered for her. He stepped up next to Byleth and wrapped a warm arm around her waist. "So much good came out of this place."

"I think it would be easy enough to convince my brother to divert some efforts into getting this place all fixed up," Flayn said brightly. "As much as he tries to pretend, I know he has a soft spot for the Academy and for the Blue Lions House especially since you all did take me on as a student partway through the year."

"We'd all have to get together more often in that case," Mercedes said cheerfully. "An annual gathering to celebrate the new classes," she suggested.

Sylvain chuckled, throwing an arm over Felix's shoulder as he headed for the centre of the room. "I like that idea, Mercedes. It reminds us all of that fateful day we all took a chance to return here and we met up with our Professor and our Prince again."

Dimitri tensed at her side, but Sylvain's words held no malice and he relaxed after a moment. Slowly, the rest of the Blue Lions congregated at the front of the classroom. Annette and Mercedes had linked their arms while Sylvain had thrown his other arm over Ingrid's shoulders as well. Ashe moved to stand between Ingrid and Annette, Dedue stood between Mercedes and Dimitri, and Flayn slipped in between Byleth and Felix.

In their odd, sort-of circle, Byleth felt a lump well up in her throat. She loved these people more than she knew she was capable of. The moment felt like it needed a toast of some sort to cement it, so Byleth swiped Dimitri's flask from its position on his belt. Her fiancé made a noise of surprise, but Byleth just ignored him and raised the flask.

"To the best students I could have asked for and the best group of friends I could have ever needed."

Smiles rippled around the room and Byleth took a swig from the flask, letting the hard liquor Dimitri was carrying burn down her throat as she swallowed. She handed the flask off to him and he took a sip before passing it off to Dedue. The flask made its way around the ring and everyone drank to differing successes (Ashe, Annette, and Flayn pulling strange faces while the rest managed to stomach it with little reaction and Sylvain even took two sips).

"Thank you, my friends," Byleth continued as she received the flask back from Flayn. "I am so grateful you were all able to come to support me in this endeavour. Your support means so much."

"Of course, Professor," Ingrid replied gently. "You believed in us when no one else did so it was only fair that we did the same."

"Besides," Dimitri continued, "my rule is nothing without the support of the Church of Seiros."

Byleth rolled her eyes and elbowed him, but he just tightened his grip on her waist and leaned down to kiss her temple. She smiled.

* * *

_Author's Note: No promises on the next update date since I'm busy as heck with school, but I wanted to get this done today so here's a little gift I guess_


	3. III - Tea and Conversation

III - Tea and Conversation

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 16 Horsebow Moon, 732 AU_

Byleth arrived before Claude did. She ordered a cup of tea and sat at one of the tables in the corner of the café. She sipped at her tea silently and observed the bustle around her. As the café on campus, Anna's was busy from its opening hour right up until when it closed. The time Byleth had chosen, 4pm, was right in the middle of lecture slots, but the place still had a line to the door and barely any open seats.

At five minutes past the hour, Byleth checked her watch. Claude had been so interested in meeting with her, but he was late. She wondered if he was standing her up for some reason. She would give him another five minutes before she left, she reasoned. While she waited, she pulled out her laptop and looked at the form on the screen in front of her.

She was currently working at forming the application questions for the undergraduate application to Seteth's research team. She had the general points hammered out that she wanted to include, but the specifics were bugging her a little. Seteth was supposed to reply to the draft he had sent him that morning, but there was no email in her inbox yet, so Byleth felt stuck.

"Hi Teach," Claude greeted and Byleth snapped her head up. Claude stood in front of her table, grinning and sounding just the tiniest bit out of breath.

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "You're late," she pointed out.

Claude shrugged. "Practice ran long, I'm sorry. I made it though." He glanced at the teacup on the table in front of her. "Ah, darn, I was going to pay to thank you for doing this."

Byleth waved him off. "It's only a few coins, I can handle it."

Claude sat down and Byleth closed her laptop, sliding it off the table. "Even so, I wanted to be polite. I did ask you here."

"To talk about archaeology," Byleth said. "It's not a date."

Claude laughed and the corners of his eyes wrinkled. Byleth stared for a moment before she dropped her gaze to the table. Claude was pretty, but he was also her student so she didn't really want anything to do with his charming face.

"So you just really want to talk about archaeology, do you?" he questioned.

Byleth glanced back up at him and studied him for a moment. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt with the emblem of a deer on it. The shirt stretched across his chest as he reclined in the chair, stretching his arms over his head leisurely. He wrapped his hands behind his head and smirked at her. The action caused his forearms to flex, showing off the wiry, toned muscles in them.

Byleth rolled her eyes. "That's what you said you wanted to discuss," she noted, raising an eyebrow.

Claude chuckled. "Alright, I guess I can start then. Why study the Guardian? You could have picked any discipline, so why focus on the Unification Era?"

"It's the single biggest archaeological field in Fódlan. It has the most funding," Byleth said shortly.

Claude clicked his tongue. "See, I might have believed that if I didn't know you weren't lying. In tutorial, you could have had us categorize any artifact and you chose the Guardian's Blade. That, to me, indicates a specific interest in her. Plus, your thesis is specifically on her disappearance isn't it?"

Byleth sighed. "Fine, you're right. When I started learning about the Unification Era, I looked into the leaders of the time, as most people would. Notably, there was the Saviour King and the Guardian of Order. There were almost no records that survived the Scorch of Garreg Mach in 101 AU, but some of the documentation was preserved after the riots in Fhirdiad the following year. The King's disappearance is explained a little there: he was killed in battle, presumed to have been in the Sreng region fighting off an invasion. The Guardian, on the other hand, was much more ambiguous. She outlived him, that much is clear, but it doesn't make sense why she would just up and vanish like she did with very little explanation."

Claude's eyes gleamed as he listened to her explain. "You think she left for a reason," he supplied.

Byleth nodded. "I do. I don't know if archaeology is the way to prove that, but I've been digging into the Royal Collection and the artifacts of that era as much as I can to try and figure out why she would leave so suddenly."

Claude nodded. "Makes sense to me." He paused and ran a thumb over his lower lip, thinking, for a moment before he looked Byleth in the eye. "I think you're looking in all the wrong places though."

"Excuse me?"

"If you're so interested in the Guardian, you should know that she was supposedly the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros at the time. Why look in the remains of the Royal Collection when you could look into the Old Church records and such?"

"She was married to the King," Byleth said simply. "That, and the fact that many of her personal effects were found as a part of the Royal Collection." She glanced out the café window at the university's main building. "Plus, the Old Church has never made looking into their records after the Scorch easy to do."

Claude considered her words. "I suppose so. Still, the GMU used to be the central monastery of the Church, didn't it? Wouldn't there be more answers there?"

Byleth shrugged. "Honestly, I hope so, but, as I said, there's never been a full excavation of the old monastery."

"But there was an excavation," Claude said. He tilted his head and the green of his eyes was cuttingly perceptive and Byleth bit her lip. "Everyone tries to keep it all hush-hush, but there was an excavation, wasn't there? You'll have to excuse me as I'm not entirely caught up on archaeological news."

Byleth took a sip of her tea. She had ordered Chamomile because it was her favourite decaf tea and it was too late in the day for caffeine now. Claude clearly knew something about the failed excavation. It felt like he was testing her to see how much she would tell him or how much she knew herself.

"It was supposed to be a full-year endeavour," Byleth said finally. "It was a professor from the University who received private funding from a benefactor to lead a team below the old monastery. The security coordinator pulled himself from the project and it ended up falling through just shortly after it began. That was five years ago and no one has had approval from the Old Church and the government to be down there since."

"Privately funded?" Claude questioned. "For an expedition to a historical site of religious and political importance, I'm surprised it was allowed to happen at all."

Byleth paused. She had never actually considered that point herself, but it explained why Seteth had been jumping through so many hoops with the museum's board as well as with the university to secure permission and funding.

"What do you think you'd find down there if you went looking?" Claude continued, watching her curiously.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know the whole story with the last team, so I can only wonder if they really articled everything they found down there, or if something else happened." She sipped her tea. "Who knows, maybe there's some kind of written record of the Guardian. That would certainly make my life interesting."

"You know, Teach, for someone who was so hesitant to meet me, you've sure told me an awful lot of stuff," Claude said teasingly.

Byleth rolled her eyes. "Most of it is common information for someone in our departments. You could have learned all of that yourself, so why did you want to hear it from me?"

"You're interesting," Claude admitted. "You have this air of cool and collected around you, but that first day, when I mentioned that you bore a resemblance to the Almyran depictions of her, you got uncomfortable. Then, when I placed the Guardian's Blade as a Relic without background information, I startled you."

He was right, of course, and Byleth hated it. "My physical resemblance to an unproven depiction has nothing to do with my studies," she replied sharply.

Claude held up his hands. "Woah, I didn't mean that it did. Besides, you're my TA, so am I not allowed to just be genuinely interested in you as a person?"

"You haven't asked me anything personal."

Claude leaned forward onto his elbows and smiled challengingly. "I wasn't aware I was allowed to."

Byleth bit down a retort. "You mentioned a practice earlier as the reason why you were late," she commented instead, swinging the topic to a different place.

He raised an eyebrow. "So you get personal questions and I don't?" Byleth held his gaze and waited for him to answer the question. Finally, after a good three seconds of eye contact, Claude gave in. "Archery," he replied. "I'm the team captain."

She gestured to his shirt. "Does the deer have anything to do with that? It has the university crest on the sleeve." It wasn't a detail she had seen immediately, but on the right arm right above the hem on his bicep was the logo for Garreg Mach University.

"You don't know about the Houses?" Claude asked. He sounded genuinely surprised.

Byleth shrugged. "I guess not."

"You did your undergrad here, so how did you not know about them?" he asked.

Byleth shrugged again. "I wasn't the most social person. Especially in my first year."

"Ah," Claude noted. "Well, in first year, students can pledge one of the three Houses at the University. You get an upper-year buddy and get invited to specific social events and it's an integration assistant basically. I'm a part of the Golden Deer House."

"That explains the deer. And the yellow."

Claude laughed. "It does, yeah. Some of my best friends are from the Golden Deer, so I can't really say anything negative about the House system."

"Are Edelgard and Dimitri in the Golden Deer?"

"Nah. Edel is part of the Black Eagles and Dimitri is part of the Blue Lions. They both followed in their parents' footsteps in that regard and I just decided to be contrary to them since I didn't have any previous connections here at the university."

Byleth nodded and sipped her tea again. It was almost cold now, so she placed the mug down on the counter and spun the teabag through it, studying the ripples it left with interest. Claude didn't say anything for a moment and Byleth let the silence hang over them.

"I'm going to grab a cup if you'd like a refill," he offered after a moment.

Byleth blinked and noticed that he had extended his hand to take her cup. She slid it over the table to him. "Thank you," she said softly.

Claude just picked up the mug and headed for the line in the café. She watched him stand in line and pull out his phone to check something as he waited for a till to free up so he could place his own order. It only took him a few minutes to get a refill of hot water for Byleth as well as his own mug and he made his way back over to her, placing the two steaming mugs between them.

"Thank you," Byleth said again.

Claude smiled again. "No worries." He paused to stir his own teabag through the hot water before taking a tiny sip. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed Byleth was staring at him. "Teach?" he questioned.

"What kind of tea?" she asked before she could stop herself. There was something itching in her brain and she felt like it hinged on the type of tea that Claude preferred.

He looked a little surprised at the bluntness of her question. "Almyran Pine," he answered. "It's an old favourite of mine."

"Bitter and very caffeinated," Byleth supplied.

Claude nodded. "Almost as much caffeine as green tea." He glanced at her own cup. "It sounds like you're speaking from experience. Do you usually drink caffeinated teas?"

Byleth curled her hands around her own mug and felt the hot porcelain sting against the sensitive skin of her palms. "I've never actually had Almyran Pine," she admitted. She knew it's flavour profile, but she'd never actually tried it. She was more partial to the softer floral teas or a black tea like Bergamot.

Claude looked almost offended. "Everyone here seems to be like that. Edelgard and Dimitri think I'm strange for liking this blend. Honestly, Anna's doesn't even have a particularly good blend of it."

"Can I try it?" Byleth asked.

Claude shrugged. "Sure." He slid the cup across the table to her and she could already smell the fresh, earthy aroma wafting up to her.

She lifted the mug and blew gently across the liquid to cool it. She took a small sip and was instantly struck by the sharpness of the tea. It was bright on her tongue, tasting quite similarly to how she imagined biting a pine needle would taste.

"So?" Claude prompted as she placed the mug down and slid it back to him.

Byleth furrowed her brow, trying to process. "It tastes familiar," she murmured. It was a strange admission to make, especially since she couldn't remember ever tasting it before. She had never really been a big tea drinker before university, and she knew that she had definitely never ordered the Almyran Pine blend from Anna's in the 5 years she had been studying at Garreg Mach.

"I thought you said you'd never had it before," Claude commented, furrowing his brow.

Byleth bit her lip and took a drink from her own tea, trying to push away her discomfort. "I haven't."

Claude was definitely caught off guard by this, as evidenced by his silence. He sipped his tea himself and just watched Byleth curiously. She kept her gaze firmly either on the table or at the bottom of her own mug.

"Dr. Cichol is putting together a team for a dig below Garreg Mach in the new year," Byleth confessed after the silence had lingered for too long.

Claude's eyebrows shot up and he almost choked on his tea. "I thought you were saying it was hard to get approval for that."

"Hard, but not impossible," she corrected. "Seteth has been working at this for four years now and he's finally got the clearance. He's taking on everyone in his lab, including me, and a group of undergraduates."

Claude straightened. "Wait, this is only the second major expedition to the old monastery ruins below the university and he's taking undergraduates instead of a full team of professionals? Which students?"

Byleth nodded. "The idea came from the Board of the Fhirdiad National Museum of Unification who is funding him. They want it to be an educational experience too to give students some practical hands-on training." She paused, pursing her lips. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about this until the application is finalized."

"Application?" Claude inquired, a gleam in his green eyes that was equal parts interest and mischief.

Byleth sighed. "Students in Archaeology 356 class will have the opportunity to apply for the eight spots as student researchers." She lifted a finger and jabbed it towards Claude. "You are not supposed to know this information yet, so you are absolutely not allowed to say anything to anyone until the application is released."

Claude grinned. "Won't tell a soul," he promised. "Why did you tell me, if I can ask?"

Byleth honestly didn't know. "You're passionate," she said. "You're interested in history and archaeology and I know you'll be applying anyways." She studied his face before adding, "and you remind me of myself when I was in undergrad. I wanted to learn everything that I could and I was just so damn curious that Seteth finally sat down with me and just handed me a brochure for the graduate program and didn't let me leave until I committed to applying to it. I see the same spark in you."

Claude's lips twitched into a half-smirk. "The graduate program, hm? Is this a recruitment speech now?"

Byleth rolled her eyes. "No. This is me answering questions you had about my research and having a conversation with a peer that I share interests with."

Claude nodded. "Fair enough, although, I will admit, I haven't asked many questions today."

Byleth frowned. "You still have questions?"

"Sure, plenty," Claude answered. He glanced at the watch on his wrist and gave a faint smile. "More than I have time to ask, unfortunately."

Byleth sighed. "Well, honestly, this wasn't entirely unpleasant. I'm usually here Wednesdays and Thursdays after 4 doing reading or work."

"Is that an invitation?"

"It's an open comment," she refuted. "I'm still your TA."

Claude shrugged. "Peers with similar interest," he parroted her earlier phrase. He drank the last of his tea and set his empty mug on the table. "It's been a pleasure, Teach. I'll see you next week."

Byleth watched him lift his backpack up and walk out of Anna's, pulling his phone out to make a call as he went. He left her with no context for his farewell. She had no idea whether he meant he would see her Monday in lecture, Tuesday in tutorial, or Wednesday or Thursday in the café. It was a fitting 'Claude' reply and Byleth now understood Edelgard and Dimitri's warnings and apologies about their friend.

Byleth sipped at her tea again, but the chamomile tasted more bitter than it had previously. She could still taste the lingering, strangely-familiar Almyran Pine when she swallowed and she frowned, looking at the door to the café.

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 7 Ethereal Moon, Unification Year_

Byleth was in the garden on the third floor of the monastery when Seteth found her. She heard him coming and turned around as he approached. She gave him a small smile as he bowed respectfully.

"Your Grace, I was hoping I might have a moment of your time," Seteth said. He gave a cursory glance toward the entrance back to the monastery where Cyril was standing guard.

Byleth gestured for Cyril to head inside. "Give us a few minutes, would you?"

"Of course, Lady Byleth," he said, immediately turning and heading inside, leaving Byleth and Seteth alone under the moonlight.

"What can I help you with Seteth?" Byleth asked curiously, turning her full attention back to her advisor.

"You have grown into your role beautifully, Your Grace," Seteth said instead, seemingly disregarding the question.

Byleth pressed her lips together and nodded. Many of the Archbishop's duties she had already been carrying out before her official ascension to the position, so in reality, she hadn't really taken upon that much more in the last few weeks. Most notably, it just seemed to limit the amount of time she was able to spend training.

"You're not here to compliment me on the role I have been groomed for, Seteth," Byleth pointed out.

He paused, but then he nodded. "Fair enough." Seteth looked up, squinting at the moon where it hung in the sky. "I assume you remember what I told you that day, back at the monastery."

Byleth's eyebrows rose and she bit her tongue. This had not been the direction she had expected Seteth to take this conversation. "I do," she agreed.

Seteth looked back at her and gestured to one of the benches on the terrace. "I did not tell you everything, nor did I explain the things I did tell you well enough. I gather you have figured out that I am one of the Nabateans, and that Flayn, despite her mortal mother, has taken after me."

Seteth paused to let her process and things started to slide more concretely into place in her mind. Seteth and Flayn had Nabatean heritage and since Rhea herself was supposedly Seiros–her brain short-circuited. "Seteth," she breathed. "How old are you?"

He chuckled lightly. "Don't you know you should never ask people their age?" Byleth levelled him with a stare and she watched his eyes take on a far-off look. "I am from the old era," Seteth finally admitted. "Flayn and I had been with Rhea for a very long time."

He fell silent together and Byleth studied his profile. Something clicked in the back of her mind and Byleth put it together. "Cichol. _You're Cichol_."

"And Flayn is Cethleann, yes. Macuil grew disgusted with humans and conflict and he isolated himself away from it all. Indech hid away as well, taking on the mythos of a great protector. Flayn and I changed our names and moved around. After the fire at Garreg Mach where your father left with you when you were a baby, Rhea called us to the monastery. She always believed you were alive, even when Jeralt said you had perished. I supposed she could feel the Crest Stone inside you."

Byleth held up a hand to get him to stop. "If she knew all this time, why did she let Jeralt take me in the first place. Wasn't I her means to an end?"

"At first, Rhea searched for you and your father, but Jeralt knew Rhea well enough by this point and he knew how to hide from her. I suppose then that she knew she couldn't keep looking for your without tipping Jeralt off and causing him to go deeper underground, so she waited for the right opportunity."

"In Remire Village, when I first met Dimitri and Edelgard and Claude, did she have anything to do with that?"

Seteth shook his head. "As far as I have discovered, the bandit attack that drove them to Remire Village was actually orchestrated by Edelgard in an attempt to remove the heads of the other houses. Your mercenary group being there was probably a happy accident and a massive wrench in her plan."

Byleth nodded. It made sense. As twisted as it was for Edelgard to attempt to assassinate Dimitri and Claude, it unfortunately aligned with the in-depth plan that Edelgard had created in order to orchestrate the war against the church. "So you and Flayn are Nabateans by blood and Rhea is Seiros, the last surviving child of Sothis. I don't understand why you're telling me all of this right now," Byleth confessed. She touched her engagement ring and bit her lip.

Seteth sighed. "Byleth, I have to admit, Flayn and I have been looking into all of this for some time and I didn't know when it would be important for you to have this information. Everything that happened with you and merging with Sothis, surely you have noticed something about yourself?"

Byleth touched her hair as Seteth spoke. Sometimes when she woke up in the morning, the green of it was still startling to her. The changes that Sothis's power had bestowed on her body had made her different, obviously, but the changes had all been sudden: her hair, her eyes, and the spiking power that had coursed through her veins. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"We are unsure of anything right now," Seteth admitted, "but there is a good chance that your merging with the goddess has changed you, Byleth, from a mortal with a Crest Stone for a heart, to something else entirely."

Byleth leaned away from Seteth, recoiling in surprise. "Are you saying I am immortal?"

"I have no idea," Seteth confessed. "It is a possibility. Flayn and I have established two possibilities for what happened to you: either your body accepted Sothis's power cleanly thanks to the Crest Stone and you will take on her immortality, or," he paused, grimacing slightly.

"Or what, Seteth," Byleth prompted, feeling a cold fear creep through her veins.

"Or the Crest Stone has acted as a conduit to Sothis's power, allowing you to wield it as long as you have strength. There is a chance that the goddess's power has corrupted your mortality entirely and," he trailed off, looking almost ill.

Byleth stood up from the bench and took a few steps away, her head spinning. "And it's consuming me from the inside," she murmured, completing Seteth's explanation. She turned to face him and saw the pain in his eyes. "You're saying that the power could either make me immortal or kill me and we have no way of knowing which one until one or the other happens."

Byleth buried her face in her hands and shook her head. "I'm getting married tomorrow!" She snapped her head up and glared at Seteth. "Why did you tell me this now?"

Seteth sighed and Byleth noted that for the first time since she'd known him, he looked defeated and completely bone-tired. "Because you deserved to know all of this the moment I discovered it and because your life no longer affects only you now. I wanted you to have this information so that you could make the decision to tell Dimitri. I am sorry, Byleth. I wish I had more answers for you."

Tears stung in her eyes and she wiped them away angrily. "So I am supposed to just tell my fiancé that I might either die suddenly or outlive him by thousands of years right before we pledge ourselves to each other and expect him to just accept that?"

"You are supposed to decide when and if you tell him," Seteth corrected gently. "The information is yours now and I promise you that Flayn and I will continue to work on this to try and find more answers."

Byleth's shoulders trembled. "I don't want answers, I just want all of this to stop!" she cried out. Her knees felt dangerously weak and she lowered herself to the stone floor of the terrace and stared up at the sky.

The moon and the stars blurred behind her tears. Byleth twisted her hands together and felt them warm up with white magic. The healing power didn't sink into her because, of course, she had no physical injuries, so she let the Recover spell fizzle into nothingness. Even after the magic had physically dispelled, Byleth could still feel the lingering warmth of its power in her veins, a feeling similar to that invoked by the Sublime Creator Sword when she wielded it.

"Where is Rhea?" Byleth asked. She wiped away the lingering tears in her eyes and stood back to her feet. She turned back to face Seteth and lifted her chin up with what confidence she could muster. "Would she know?"

"Rhea did not see fit to tell any of us where she would be going once she left the monastery," Seteth began.

"Seteth," Byleth cut off sharply. "Would she know?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Rhea spent a long time trying to," he winced, "create you, but I don't think anything about how it happened was according to her plan. Implanting the Crest Stone in you was clearly not something she had intended to do, but I don't know if she knew what it would lead to."

Byleth nodded slowly and rubbed at her arms nervously. "Okay," she said softly. The information was still whirring in her brain and she had no idea how she was supposed to be feeling or how she was supposed to react. Mostly, she was still afraid to tell Dimitri. They were supposed to wed tomorrow and she hadn't the slightest idea what to tell him, if anything at all.

"I am sorry to spring this on you, Byleth," Seteth said again.

Byleth exhaled slowly. "I know."

She didn't know what she would have done next, but Cyril reappeared in the doorway of the monastery and she instead wiped her face quickly and straightened up. This was not the time for the leader of the church to come across as weak or divided on anything.

"Cyril?" she called to him. Seteth turned, noticing their visitor.

"Your Grace, Seteth, there is important news," Cyril said.

"News?" Byleth frowned, walking towards her friend. "What happened?"

Cyril looked like he was trying to hide a smile. "There's someone here to see you, Your Grace."

Now Byleth knew she looked as confused as she felt. "Wait, what? Everyone who was coming to the wedding should have been here yesterday or earlier. Who's here?"

"You ought to come see for yourself. They're in the main hall with Dimitri and the others."

Byleth sighed and stepped past Cyril. She would take up this conversation with Seteth again later, but for now, she was just incredibly curious about who was showing up at the monastery the night before her wedding to the King of Fódlan. She made her way quickly down to the first floor. Seteth followed her a few paces back and Byleth led the charge through the reception hall towards the entrance hall.

She entered the hall and walked towards the main monastery gates. She could hear familiar voices–Flayn, Dimitri, Ingrid, Annette–and she hurried forward so she could see down the stairs. The first person she saw was, of course, the large frame of Dimitri, but then she saw who was beside him and her jaw dropped.

Claude von Riegan stood next to Dimitri, arms folded and a smirk on his face. He was wearing the armour of a wyvern rider and he seemed to have lost all of the regalia he had previously adorned as the leader of the Alliance.

Seteth had stopped next to her at the top of the stairs and Byleth could feel the ripples of surprise coming off of him that were similar to her own shock. Byleth stepped down one stair and then another, still looking between Dimitri and Claude. The last time she had seen Claude had been in Derdriu when he had ceded the Alliance to Dimitri and announced his intentions to leave Fódlan. She had no idea what he was doing here.

Though she hadn't led the Golden Deer during their time at the Academy, Byleth had always enjoyed Claude's company. He had been clever and snarky and just distrusting of the church enough that her father had liked him too. He was an excellent shot with a bow and he was a brilliant tactician, skills Byleth definitely commended. She felt almost affronted that he would choose the day before her wedding to miraculously drop out of the sky.

Her shock faded and her annoyance and anger replaced it and she descended the rest of the stairs quickly. She approached the group of her friends and Annette barely had time to notice her before Byleth was cutting in front of Dimitri and grabbing Claude by the collar of his armour.

"Claude von Riegan, what in the goddess's name are you doing here?" Byleth demanded.

Claude had tensed as soon as she had grabbed him, but he relaxed when he noted that it was Byleth who had assaulted him and that she didn't truly look angry, more annoyed. Dimitri stepped closer to Byleth and gently tugged her hand away from Claude's neck. Byleth resisted for a moment before she dropped her hand with a huff. Dimitri let his hand curl around hers, partially out of affection and partially to make sure she didn't accost Claude again.

Claude chuckled lightly and straightened his armour. "Hey, Teach, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Byleth narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she repeated.

Claude smirked. "Well, when I heard that the King of Fódlan was getting married to the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, I knew that I couldn't miss my chance to stop by and give you my best wishes. Surely you'll be able to find a seat for me at the ceremony tomorrow?"

Byleth pursed her lips. There was something fishy about his explanation–some edge to the words that hid their real meaning. It was a tone of voice she was familiar with from Claude's time as her student. The wedding was only an excuse for him because he definitely had some sort of ulterior motive.

Dimitri didn't seem to share her observation because he laughed. "Don't worry Claude, we won't turn you back out into the cold. We'll find you a seat if you tell us where you've been this past half-year."

Claude's lips twitched. "It's kind of a long explanation for the night before such a big day."

Byleth folded her arms and levelled an even stare at the former Alliance leader. "You're not weaselling out of this one."

Claude held up his hands. "Alright, alright, but surely we can find somewhere to sit first?"

* * *

_Author's Note: Social distancing? More like stay up super late and write more. Stay safe and take the necessary steps to help out your community everyone. __If I manage to stay on top of my work like I am, maybe we'll get chapter 4 sooner than I was thinking we would._


	4. IV - Of Memories I've Lost

IV - Of Memories I've Lost

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 8 Ethereal Moon, 732 AU_

Byleth was glad when Red Wolf Moon was over. She had been drowning in her own work as well as the marking for the class she was TAing. Because Seteth was teaching three different classes on top of his own research, he had delegated the marking of the term papers for the class to Byleth.

It really shouldn't have been such a big deal, but Byleth had struggled to get them done on time thanks to her progressing research and managing the applications and interviews for the expedition. The start date for the project was rapidly approaching and, as of the previous week, they had finally managed to choose the undergrads would be a part of the team and had been rapidly working with them to try to get their skills up to snuff before they were handling real artifacts.

Even so, the marking was finally done and the essays sat in three towering stacks on her desk, just begging for a breeze to sweep by and knock them all over. Byleth was currently planning the first of several workshops that would teach practical skills to the undergrads. She kept glancing at the door of her office, waiting for the first students to come by to pick up their essays and she nearly spelt Lysithea's name wrong on a sheet before she managed to shake away her distraction.

She looked down at the sheet in front of her and the list of eight names that she and Seteth had painstakingly chosen. There were the natural fits in Lysithea and Linhardt from Byleth's tutorial as well as Ingrid, who had had an exceptionally well-written application. From Seteth's tutorial there were also Annette Dominic and Ignatz Victor. The last three students were Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard. Byleth had a sneaking suspicion that their applications had been all written together and that they had all been Claude's idea.

Nonetheless, they had their team of eight: Lysithea, Linhardt, Ingrid, Annette, Ignatz, Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard. Their applications had all been excellent and Byleth had been pleased with the level of enthusiasm exhibited by a group of undergraduate students, especially since technically none of them were actually Archaeology majors.

Someone knocked on the door and Byleth looked up, placing her pen down. Annette stood in the doorway, smiling shyly, as another girl stood just behind her. Byleth beckoned Annette in and the redhead came in, biting her lip and looking a bit skittish.

"Here for your essay?" Byleth asked.

Annette nodded. "I know your office hours haven't technically started, but I wanted to beat the rush."

Byleth waved her off. "No worries at all." She flipped through the first few essays in her first stack until she found Annette's essay and she pulled it out. She handed it over and Annette peeked at the grade before beaming and making her way out of the room.

After that, there was a steady stream of students that came by her office to pick up their term papers as well as to ask questions about the discussions planned for tutorial in the coming weeks. Byleth had handed back nearly all of the essays when her office hours officially ended and she started putting the rest of them away in the filing cabinet she kept for assignments and paperwork for the class.

"I hope we're not too late, Teach," a familiar voice called out just as she was closing the cabinet drawer.

Byleth looked over her shoulder and saw Claude standing in front of her desk, flanked by Lorenz and Hilda, the two friends who were in Byleth's tutorial with him. She shook her head and pulled the drawer back open, fishing out the trio's essays.

"I wanted to come right at the start at the hour, but these idiots said we should come at the end," Lorenz said as Byleth retrieved the papers. It wasn't surprising to her.

Hilda snorted a laugh. "We would have been late getting here if it wasn't for me, so I'd watch your tone, Lorenz," she snipped in reply.

Byleth handed Lorenz and Hilda their essays and was about to hand Claude's back when he cleared his throat.

"I actually had a question about the essay, Teach," he said before he'd even taken the paper out of her hand.

Byleth blinked in surprise and her grip lingered on Claude's assignment for just long enough that it was awkward before he swept it out of her grip and sat in the chair on the other side of her desk.

"I'll catch up with you guys back at the house," Claude said to Hilda and Lorenz. His friends just shrugged and made their way out of the room, bickering about punctuality as they went.

Byleth watched them leave before she turned her gaze back to Claude and raised an eyebrow. "Did you really have a question about the essay?"

Claude grinned. "Just wanted to know what you thought of my topic." He tapped the circled 88 on the front of the page and winked at her. "Apparently I picked a good one."

Byleth shook her head. After three months she was getting to know Claude's antics well enough. He was criminally light-hearted, but wicked smart. He liked to tease and poke fun, but he was serious about his work when it came down to it. Since the first time they'd spoken at Anna's about Byleth's research Claude had made it a habit to try and stop in on her office hours as often as possible so that they could talk about whatever research Byleth was currently doing.

It was a slightly weird relationship given that Byleth was the TA, but the semester was almost over and she somehow knew that just because she wasn't seeing him in tutorial once a week, it didn't mean he was going to stop coming around. And she didn't really want him to stop. It was nice to talk about her passion to someone who was just as interested as she was.

"What do you want, Claude?" she prompted again.

He smirked. "Come on, Teach, tell me what's new this week," he urged.

Byleth rolled her eyes, but she turned her laptop towards him so that he could see what she was working on. "I've been doing stuff for Seteth all week so I haven't really had any big breakthroughs since we last spoke."

Claude scanned the screen of her computer curiously. "Do we have a start date yet?"

"Guardian Moon 17," Byleth said. "You can pass that along to the others if you'd like. I'll be sending out the email this weekend. We have our first training session next Wednesday night for everyone."

"Wednesday?" Claude repeated, looking a bit perplexed.

"Problem?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe. I have archery on Wednesdays, and so does Ignatz, but if this is later in the evening we should be fine."

Byleth leaned forward a bit and gave Claude her own sly grin. "Maybe I'll just bring everyone to watch so we can put the pressure on you."

He shrugged. "If you want to see me shoot flawlessly, be my guest."

Byleth rolled her eyes and turned her computer back to face her. She tapped out a few more notes on the page before glancing back at Claude. "Did you actually need something?" she asked curiously.

"I came here to give you something," he admitted.

Byleth was surprised, but Claude reached into his bag and pulled out a folded brochure. He unfolded it so she could see the front and passed it to her. It was in a mix of Almyran and Fódlani, but Byleth recognized the logo on the front of it.

She ran a fingernail over the looping script and glanced at Claude, furrowing her brow. "The Royal Almyran Gallery? This is in Almyra, you know," Byleth murmured. "They're not exactly jumping at the idea of a Fódlani researcher entering their royal galleries."

"You're hitting all the same deadends as everyone else who has ever studied the Guardian of Order," Claude pointed out. "There's no way that you're going to make progress unless you try to tackle something that other people haven't attempted to dig into."

"Like the underside of Garreg Mach in the old monastery ruins, not in a foreign national gallery," Byleth said. She placed the brochure down and shook her head. "I can't exactly just get up and go to Almyra right now anyways."

"What about over the winter break?" Claude asked. "The galleries aren't busy during the holidays. Almyrans usually spend the holidays completely absorbed in family and celebration."

Byleth spun the paper underneath her fingers. She had to admit, the idea was intriguing. Almyra had done a much better job of preserving artifacts from the Unification Era since they hadn't suffered the Scorch of Garreg Mach or the riots in Fhirdiad that had followed it. Even so, the National Board of History in Fódlan had seen the Almyran collection and deemed it unimportant to Fódlan's own history. She wasn't sure exactly what the Royal Gallery could offer her, but she also didn't know what it might have that could be useful for her work, even if it was all just speculation.

"You will consider it, won't you?" Claude asked. "I'll be in Almyra over the winter break if you did want to check it out."

Byleth finally relented, picking up the brochure and sliding it into one of the drawers on her desk. "I'll consider it," she agreed.

Claude grinned. "Excellent. Now, tell me about that crazy dream you had last night."

Byleth's eyebrows shot up. She had said nothing of her weird dream to Claude. She had very briefly discussed it with Seteth in private a few hours ago, but she had said nothing to her student about it. She hadn't the faintest idea about how he knew she had even had a weird dream.

"I had to see Dr. Cichol about a history assignment and I just happened to overhear part of your conversation," Claude confessed when she had been stunned into silence. "I only know that there was a dream and that apparently it was weird."

Byleth frowned. "I don't see how that's any of your business. That was a private conversation, Claude."

He shrugged, looking only mildly apologetic. "You don't want to get my opinion on it at all?"

Byleth leaned away from him, pursing her lips. "And why would I want your opinion?"

Claude tilted his head and looked at her. "I don't know. For the same reason you haven't kicked my ass for asking you a million questions about your thesis and for being probably the worst student in your tutorial section?"

"The worst student?"

"Well, most people aren't on a first-name basis outside of tutorial with a TA, are they?"

"That's just because I can't get rid of you," she teased.

He smiled at her again and the glint in his green eyes made her chest hurt suddenly. The satisfied look on his face combined with the mischievous gleam was pulling at something in her memory and she couldn't help but remember the weird dream from the previous night. She dropped her gaze to the desk and took a deep breath.

"You're sure that we'd never met before this year, right? We'd never had a class together or chatted at a party?" Byleth asked. The teasing humour had disappeared from her voice and Claude seemed to pick up on it.

His brow furrowed and he dropped his amused pretenses. "No, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that," he said.

Byleth bit her lip and nodded. "Have you ever felt like everything you ever did was leading you in circles?"

Claude looked genuinely interested now, his playfulness suppressed by his curiosity. "At times, maybe," he said. "Something about this is familiar to you?"

Byleth opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a notebook. She flipped through it to the page where she had made the sketch that morning, after her dream. She turned the page to face Claude and let him pick it up to study it closer.

"It's a throne," he noted. "It looks like it's Old Civilization."

"It's pre-Unification," Byleth agreed. "That symbol," she pointed to the roughly sketched swirl on the back of it, "makes me think it would be religious. Seteth says he doesn't recognize it and I haven't found any record of it in the old monastery's records."

"Maybe it's in the capital somewhere?" Claude asked. "Dimitri and Edelgard have spent a lot more time in Fhirdiad than I have, so I can't be certain."

"It's not in Fhirdiad," Byleth said. "I don't know why I know that, but I know it's not there. I dreamt of a large, empty stone chamber for three days in a row and then last night I dreamt of the same chamber, but this throne was there." She paused, recalling the longing that had coursed through her when she had seen it for the first time in her dream. "I wanted to sit on it," she murmured.

Claude looked puzzled and he slid the notebook back to her. "Honestly, while I'm not one to subscribe to all the spirit stuff, it seems to me like you have real memories of it that have been surfacing slowly."

Byleth closed the book and slid it back into the drawer. She brushed her thumb over the handle on the drawer and frowned. "That's honestly what I've been kind of afraid of," she admitted.

* * *

It was late in the evening by the time Byleth had finally finished up everything she had wanted to do on campus. The sun had set almost two hours ago and the dim, artificial yellow lighting across campus provided only enough illumination to make every student or staff that passed by her a looming shadow.

She pulled her coat tighter around her stomach and burrowed her nose into the scarf she was wearing. Byleth had just left the part of campus where the Archaeology and History departments had their offices and she was headed through the main part of the campus when she spotted a lone figure standing on the quad in front of one of the dean's offices.

Her curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly approached the figure, squinting through the gloom to see if she recognized them. To her surprise, as the figure tilted their head up, illuminating their features, Byleth recognized Dimitri as he stared solemnly at the building. Almost immediately she stopped walking, pausing around 30 feet away from him. She wanted to approach him and check in on him, but at the same time, the moment felt strangely private and she wanted to respect that.

Fortunately, she didn't have to make a decision, as Dimitri turned and spotted her himself. His shoulders straightened and he tucked his hands into his pockets. He strode towards her and Byleth noted the polite smile that he was wearing. It looked forced, but practiced at the same time and Byleth felt her heart clench. It was a smile achingly similar to the one she had worn after her father had died.

"Hello Byleth," Dimitri greeted politely once he had gotten close enough.

"Hello Dimitri," she replied cordially. "What are you doing here so late?"

He laughed lightly. "Well, we are getting into the end of term and I've got a few last assignments to turn in by the end of this week. I had been working in the library, but they're closed now, so I'm headed home."

He was lying. She wasn't sure exactly how she knew, but maybe it was simply the fact that she knew Dimitri was a business student and the business library was at the south end of campus, not near the centre where they currently stood in the cold night air.

Byleth frowned. "Is everything alright, Dimitri?" she pressed carefully.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, smiling ruefully, but much more genuinely. "You are very perceptive," he admitted. "Everything is alright though," he assured. "I've just been feeling a bit off today. It's like there's something about this date, in particular, that is an itch I can't scratch. I'd been trying to follow that feeling and I ended up here."

Byleth glanced at the offices around the quad. This building was one of the oldest on campus and was part of the restored old monastery. Above each of the three main offices was a beautiful stone carving. From left to right they depicted a deer, a lion, and an eagle. They were the symbols of the three student-life houses that Claude had told her about, and if her research was true, they were also the symbols of the old Officer's Academy that had been run out of the monastery.

"I get the feeling," Byleth admitted. "It's like there's this string in your chest that's yanking you along through memories that don't feel like yours."

"Yes," Dimitri agreed. "I never spend much time on this part of campus, but this," he gestured to the carving of the lion over their heads, "it feels so strangely familiar."

"Maybe it's the Blue Lions of old speaking through you," Byleth suggested lightly and Dimitri laughed softly.

"I should like to think I would know if that were the case."

He fell silent after a moment and Byleth studied him. He looked tired, but a lot less solemn than he had when she had first found him.

"I'm sorry about your parents," Byleth said before she could stop herself.

Dimitri's shoulders tensed, but then they relaxed and he sighed. "Yes, it seems like everyone is."

Byleth reached out to touch his arm and he looked towards her. There was a deep, resonating sadness to the blue of his eyes and before she could stop herself, her hand had found its way to land on his cheek. Dimitri, to his credit, didn't react to the boldness of the gesture and Byleth gently retracted her touch.

"I lost my father too," she admitted quietly. "The circumstances were different, but I'm still sorry you had to go through that."

Dimitri nodded. "I've been well supported, thankfully. I'm sorry for your loss as well. Unlike what people say, it doesn't really get any easier."

Byleth smiled sadly. "No, it doesn't."

A sharp, cool wind blew around them and Byleth bristled in her coat, shivering. She nearly stepped closer to Dimitri on an instinctual level but managed to catch herself before she could. She stepped away instead, leaving a respectable distance between them. They were familiar enough, but the intimacy in the moment they had shared was almost alarming to her and she needed a clear head.

"Get home safe, Dimitri," Byleth said gently. She tugged her coat more tightly around herself and gave him one last reassuring smile. "I'll see you in tutorial."

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 12 Lone Moon, 1 AU_

"The church is really coming along, Your Grace," Claude complimented. There was a teasing lilt to his voice when he said her title and Byleth elbowed him.

"Just because you don't believe in the goddess, doesn't mean nobody else does," she scolded lightly.

Claude shrugged. "You're the one who invited the foreign national to visit," he pointed out.

Byleth sighed. He was right, but she didn't want to admit it. She walked away from him instead, heading toward the Reception Hall of the monastery, assuming he would follow. He did so, after a few paces, and they walked silently back through the bustling halls of the monastery. Monks and knights would pause in their step to nod or bow to Byleth and she offered them the best smiles she could before they were passing her by and moving on with their tasks.

"It feels different around here now, doesn't it?" Byleth asked as she led Claude into the Reception Hall.

"Maybe that's just because we've all changed so much. It has been six years since we started our year at the Officer's Academy. Cyril tells me that you're reopening the academy in the Great Tree Moon of next year," Claude commented.

Byleth laughed. "To say we've changed is a bit of an understatement. Fódlan has changed a lot too."

"Definitely," Claude agreed. "I can't take anything away from you or His Majesty on that front. You two have done a wonderful job."

Byleth paused in her step and studied him. "You could have helped us," she reminded.

Claude laughed. "Yeah, but then I wouldn't get to be here as foreign royalty. I would just be another Lord under His Majesty and the Almyrans would still be pounding at Fódlan's Locket."

Byleth sighed. "I suppose that's true. What is it they have taken to calling you, the King of Dawn?"

He shrugged. "My father's rule was stagnating. I suppose I have merely supplied a breath of fresh air for Almyrans. The new partnership with Fódlan has helped me curry more favour than I would like to admit."

Before Byleth could reply, a familiar, booming voice pulled their attention across the Reception Hall: "Claude! Byleth!"

Byleth smiled at the familiar voice as she watched her husband approach them. He was smiling broadly as he took in Byleth and Claude. He paused to embrace Claude briefly before turning to Byleth and pressing a warm kiss against her cheek in greeting. Dimitri tried to pull away, but Byleth gripped his collar and planted a soft kiss on his lips before he could withdraw fully.

Claude laughed at her. "I see you two are the same as always."

Dimitri slid one of his hands into hers as he smiled. "We try to be. How have you been Claude? We haven't seen you in person since the Ethereal Moon."

Byleth felt a pulse of unexpected bitterness rise in her chest and she bit down her retort. She didn't want to snap at Dimitri when he was visiting the monastery, especially with how infrequent his visits had been recently. She didn't want to complain, especially in front of Claude, about how she had spent almost as much time with Claude as she had with her husband since they'd been married.

Of course, it was a burden they had to bear. Byleth had a responsibility to the church at the monastery and Dimitri had a responsibility to the nation in Fhirdiad, so they spent much of their time separated by distance and work. It wasn't exactly the married life she had imagined for them.

Claude and Dimitri had moved onto discussing some political motion that was in the works in Fhirdiad by the time Byleth managed to refocus on the conversation and she squeezed Dimitri's hand. She stole a glance at him and noticed that he looked even more tired than he had when he had arrived three days prior.

"You must exclude me, Claude, my beloved, but I have something I have to do before dinner this evening. I will see you both then," Dimitri said. He smiled at Claude and leaned down to give Byleth another brief kiss before he pulled his hand out of hers and was slipping away.

Byleth couldn't manage to disguise her disappointment fast enough as she caught Claude giving her a curious look as Dimitri walked away. She quickly frowned and turned so Claude was only looking at her profile, hoping to dissuade whatever conversation he wanted to have about the interaction.

"This is different from the last time I was here," Claude noted quietly. "His Kingliness is usually much better at picking up your signals. He was always better at it than anyone else, so it's odd to see him so blind to it today."

Byleth's frown deepened. "We both have our own duties," she said firmly. "There is no break for us in any of this."

"No," Claude agreed, "but surely a man can take a break to shower his wife with praises?"

Byleth sighed. "I don't know why you think you're qualified to speak on someone else's relationship," she pointed out sternly.

"Consider this the concern of a friend then," he supplied. "Teach, I have never met a man more enamoured with a woman than Dimitri is with you. But, if that's what all of your interactions have been like recently, something is wrong."

Byleth sighed. "We got through the war," she said simply. "We will get through this."

She walked away from Claude then, not really caring if he followed her. It wasn't that she was angry with him for his words, more frustrated that her own emotions regarding hers and Dimitri's relationship had been so easy for him to discern. She was also frustrated that he had been right in the first place in noting the disconnect between the spouses. Besides their short, snipped conversations in the evenings and mornings, Byleth honestly couldn't remember the last time she and Dimitri had had a real, personal conversation and it did make her nervous.

Without intending to, Byleth headed for the training grounds. It was an old habit she had of working out stress through fighting, something that had developed during her years growing up as a mercenary. The grounds were thankfully empty and Claude seemed to have picked up on her annoyance and had wisely chosen not to follow her.

Byleth set up a line of training dummies and then a line of magic targets on the far side of the hall. She forewent the training weapons, opting to work on her brawling skills. She picked the softest of the dummies and started with a few slow jabs before she worked into a faster, harder-hitting set that made her hands throb minorly. The pain was therapeutic, though. It reminded her that she was feeling and that helped, especially on days like this.

Once she had worn out her brawling drill, she chose to start in on her magic skills. Byleth called a crackling Thunder spell between her fingers and she turned to fire it at the targets she had set up, only to have to jerk her hand sharply left and blast lightning into the corner of the room, where it crackled and smoked with a bang.

Felix, who stood directly in front of her targets, seemed unphased as he strode towards her. Byleth folded her arms and frowned at him.

"I could have killed you," she pointed out.

"I've taken a Thunder from you before," he noted. "I've taken your spells at full-strength before, not when they were powered by your frustrations."

Byleth blinked at him. "My frustrations?" she echoed.

"Don't cast when you're overly emotional," he said. "You were the one who taught me that after I nearly burned Sylvain's arm off. There's nothing more dangerous to a magic-user than losing control."

She had indeed taught both the Gautier and Fraldarius heirs the importance of control when they had been learning magic under her tutelage during their academy days and during the war. Byleth uncrossed her arms and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

"What are you doing here, Felix? I didn't know you would be coming here with Dimitri."

"Technically I'm not here with him," Felix admitted. "We're actually here to see Mercedes."

"We?" Byleth questioned.

Felix's lips pressed together and Byleth answered her own question as the pieces clicked in her mind. She smiled.

"Congratulations, Felix," she commended.

He nodded. "Thank you. Annette will find you to tell you officially before we leave."

"Are you just here to avoid all the celebratory talks then?" Byleth questioned, gesturing to the training hall.

"I was looking for you, actually," Felix corrected.

Byleth frowned again, her optimism draining away. "Why?"

"Because I heard you and Dimitri got into it yesterday," he admitted.

It was true. At the meeting with Claude to discuss foreign treaties the day before, Dimitri had pressed Byleth and the church for resources they couldn't supply and she had, in return, pressed him for legislation that wasn't supported by a majority of his advisors. It had definitely been one of their uglier discussions, especially since their wedding and doubly so since they had a spectator in Claude.

"We handled it," Byleth said curtly, which was also true, but only thanks to Claude stepping in as a mediator.

"You did," Felix pointed out. "Dimitri has been beating himself up about it all day. That's why he's been avoiding you."

"Avoiding me?" she said.

"You haven't noticed? How whenever you two run into each other, he miraculously has some meeting or something to get to shortly after you see each other? How he seemed to have more to say to your mutual friend than he did to his wife earlier in the Reception Hall?"

Byleth pressed her lips together. "I didn't notice," she admitted softly.

Felix exhaled. "I know. That's why I'm here. Because, as much as he'd like to pretend otherwise, Dimitri will never be the same as he was before the war. He'll never be that perfect, princely figure again and he'll certainly never be able to see himself in the same way again. Professor, he loves you very much so he'll do his best to make sure you never notice, but he's still struggling."

Byleth twisted her hands together, rubbing her wedding ring almost nervously. "How could I miss that? Shouldn't I notice things like that?"

Felix reached out and, in a rare move for him, placed his hands on her shoulders. "Professor, he is taking all the precautions to ensure you don't see what he's going through. He's gotten better at hiding things from you since you've been here and he's been in the capital. That's why we're here, right now," he confessed.

Something clicked in her head. "Dedue wrote to Claude to invite him, didn't he? And you and Ingrid and Sylvain and the others made sure that Dimitri would be here where we wouldn't be able to hide from each other."

Felix didn't answer her question directly, but the answer glimmered in his amber eyes. "You take care of each other. You bring out the best in each other." He dropped his hands from her shoulders and stepped back. "Don't lose that, Professor. There's a lot riding on that trust and love going forward."

Felix took another step back and then he was fully retreating, heading out of the training hall. The door closed behind him and Byleth was alone. She felt anchored to the spot and afraid. She was scared of being blind enough to miss the self-hatred that roiled in Dimitri. She had always been able to see it before and if she was losing that gift, she didn't know what she was going to do.

She loved him, that much was certain, and obviously their friends cared about them both a great deal too.

Byleth immediately left the training hall and jogged through the hallways of the monastery. She hadn't done much running in the halls since her ascension and there was something oddly freeing in the action. She felt a smile creeping up on her face as she dodged around people and made for the Cardinal's Room on the second floor where Dimitri was supposed to be in a meeting.

She opened the door and immediately saw her husband speaking with a few Alliance nobles. The conversations halted when she appeared in the doorway and Dimitri rose from his seat, surprise etching across his face.

"Your Majesty," Byleth said politely, "I need to speak with you. It's urgent."

Dimitri nodded politely to the nobles he had been conversing with and followed her out of the room into the hall. Byleth led him ten paces away from the door before she pivoted sharply to face him. She reached up and grasped his face, pulling him down for an urgent kiss. He reciprocated after a brief moment of surprise and Byleth pulled away, staring Dimitri in his good eye.

"I love you," she said firmly. "I will never be angry with you for fighting for your country. I am proud of you and there is no one I would rather do any of this with," she said, letting her emotions flow through her words.

Dimitri stared at her face for a long moment before he kissed her again, more firmly than she had kissed him, and he let the kiss linger for a second longer. He inhaled shakily and pressed their foreheads together. Byleth rocked onto her tiptoes to relieve the strain on his neck due to their height difference and Dimitri smiled gently.

"Okay," he breathed out.

"I love you," she said again.

"I love you too," he replied.

* * *

_Author's Note: __I'm still stupid stressed over school and procrastinating so I'm not sure when I'll get part 5 out, but hopefully sooner rather than later._


	5. V - How Everything Breaks

_I don't usually leave notes at the start of works, but I did want to give a heads up to a discussion and brief description of miscarriage in the past-section of this chapter. Please take care if this is something that could be triggering or sensitive for you._

* * *

V - How Everything Breaks

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 19 Ethereal Moon, 732 AU_

"Are you really going to stay in town over the break?" Flayn's wide green eyes were charming and innocent and they made Byleth feel slightly guilty.

"I hadn't planned on going anywhere and I thought that maybe I could do more work if there were fewer people around," Byleth explained. She took another sip of her tea and almost winced at the disappointment on Flayn's face.

"And you won't come with us to the coast?" Flayn asked again.

Byleth shook her head. "No, I take up enough of your father's time. I don't need to tag along with you guys on this trip. I know what it means to you to be able to get to visit your mother. I don't want to intrude."

Flayn frowned and nibbled at the tart on her plate. "It's not intruding if we invite you," she tried.

Byleth sighed. "I'll be fine, Flayn. I did this last year too. It's alright."

"What's alright?" Seteth asked as he approached the table, holding his own cup of coffee. He looked between Flayn and Byleth and seemed to read the conversation fairly well. "Is this about the break still?"

"I'm going to try to get ahead on work. I've still got paperwork to process before the dig starts anyways," Byleth excused.

Seteth shook his head. "Byleth, I finished that last week. And the break is for taking time off, so even if you won't come with us, you must promise you won't spend the whole time working. Do you have a friend you could visit?"

Byleth briefly considered the option, thinking of Leonie, a girl who had studied martial arts under her father who Byleth had been friends with for a few years during her undergrad. Leonie was in her fourth year of study now and had extended an invitation for Byleth to spend the holidays with her the previous year and would likely do so again if Byleth reached out. Still, she didn't want to burden Leonie. She knew how hard the girl worked to balance school and a part-time job to pay off her loans.

"I'll be fine, Seteth," she said instead.

He frowns, looking much like Flayn had. "You say that and I still worry. What about near Shambhala? Is there anyone you worked with over there who you might want to visit?"

Byleth paused before she could shoot him down. While she wasn't particularly keen on caving to Seteth and Flayn, there was somewhere she was interested in going for both personal and academic reasons. The brochure had been taunting her for almost two weeks and it had taken her until two days ago to look through it fully and find that Claude had tucked his phone number in the back of it in the event she did decide to visit Almyra.

"What if I went on a trip for research purposes?" she asked. "Is that better?"

"For research?" Seteth inquired. As personally invested as he was, there was just no turning off his genuine curiosity.

Byleth dug into her bag for the brochure and placed it on the coffee table. Flayn picked it up and studied it curiously before she passed it to her father and gave Byleth a surprised look.

"Almyra?" she wondered.

Byleth shrugged. "It's an itch I want to scratch. I'm running into all the same walls as other people. Maybe something could strike while I'm there."

Seteth hummed in agreement. "It's an idea for sure. I'm interested to know what you think about these too," he added, tapping one of the small, fuzzy pictures on the inside of the brochure.

Byleth bit her lip. He was referring to the same tapestries that Claude had alluded to the first time they had met. Seteth was correct, too, because Byleth had wanted to see the tapestries since she first heard about them. In photos, she could only see so much, but she was hoping that if she could see them face-to-face she could put aside any lingering nerves about why everyone she knew kept saying she looked like the Guardian of Order.

"I think it's a great idea," Seteth said after a pause.

Byleth felt a small smile curve up her lips and she drummed her fingers over the brochure on the tabletop. "Okay," she agreed. She lifted the edge of the paper and spied the scrawled phone number written on the inside page. "I guess I have a call to make then."

* * *

_Jodat International Airport, Almyra - 21 Ethereal Moon, 732 AU_

As soon as she grabbed her luggage off the carousel, Byleth called Claude. She tucked her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she lugged her suitcase and purse towards the exit doors. She nearly dropped her phone and swore loudly and was greeted by a loud laugh in response.

"_You always curse like that in the heat_?" Claude's teasing voice said through the phone.

Byleth huffed as she managed to situate her stuff so she could keep a grasp on her phone. "Shut it, Claude. Where do I go once I leave the main exit?"

"_Head straight for like a minute until you see passenger pick-up. You'll see me_."

Byleth exited the airport into the bustling pick-up zone. A gust of warm air fluffed her hair and Byleth stifled a groan at the radiating heat. It was the Ethereal Moon and it was still as warm as it was in the summer at Garreg Mach here. She didn't want to imagine what it would be like during Blue Sea Moon or Verdant Rain Moon.

True to his word, Byleth spotted Claude almost immediately as she walked out. He was leaning against a fancy silver car, grinning at her over a pair of sunglasses as she approached. He pushed off the car and opened the trunk for her as she arrived at his side.

"You know, Teach, when you said you'd consider it, I didn't think you'd actually be coming here."

Byleth shrugged. "I wanted to get away," she offered as an excuse.

Claude quirked an eyebrow. "Sure," he replied nonchalantly.

Byleth dumped her suitcase in the trunk of the car and quickly lifted her hair into a makeshift ponytail. Claude watched her with a smile and waited for her to get more comfortable before he walked around to the driver's side of the car. It felt a bit weird to see him outside of the university setting, especially since he was dressed in stylish white pants and a long-sleeved black shirt. There was no way that he wasn't burning hot, but he didn't seem phased at all.

Byleth got in the passenger side and was almost immediately taken aback at how nice the car was. She glanced from the leather dashboard cover to the fancy console to Claude and gave him a skeptical look.

"This is snazzy," she commented dryly.

He laughed. "Child of a diplomat, remember?"

Byleth immediately rolled her window down and looked out curiously. She had never been to Almyra before and the bustling airport in the capital had a very different feel from the big airports in Fódlan.

Before she or Claude could say anything else, there was a high-pitched female shriek from nearby. "Khalid!"

Byleth blinked in surprise as she watched a trio of girls across four lanes of pick-up traffic wave frantically and try to fight their way towards the car. She looked at Claude.

"Friends of yours?"

"Nope," he replied evenly and started the car. He pulled smoothly away from the curb before the girls could get close to their car. "If you put the window up, the AC will feel better," he suggested as if nothing had happened.

Obliging, Byleth rolled up the window but kept a cautious gaze on her host. "Who's Khalid?" she asked Claude.

"No idea," he said in the same casual tone of voice.

Byleth noted that his hands were tight on the steering wheel and he kept his sunglasses on, covering his eyes. He was hiding something. "Claude," she pressed, "who's Khalid?"

"Some celebrity I'm sure. She must have mistaken me for someone else. Maybe she mistook you for someone," he suggested.

Byleth crossed her arms. "Aren't I owed a bit of honesty if I came all this way?"

Claude sighed heavily. "Look, I'll explain everything soon, okay? None of it will make sense right now, so just pick a radio station, okay?" He gestured to the console in the front of the car.

Byleth fiddled with the dial until the speakers in the car crackled to life. A smooth, upbeat song filtered through and she recognized it. It was a pop song from Fódlan that was playing all over the radio stations back home too. Not trusting herself not to turn directly to some random Almyran news channel, she left it.

"Thanks for picking me up," she said to Claude.

He grinned again. "Hey, I'm honestly glad to be out of the house for a bit. Besides, I don't often get visitors out here so I'm happy to be your guide for a few days."

Byleth dug for the gallery brochure in her purse. "And what makes you so sure that you can even get me into the gallery?"

Claude smirked. "Don't you trust me, Teach?"

Byleth glanced out the window to look at the city as they drove by. "I guess I don't have much of a choice," she admitted. Claude drove past the highway exit for the main downtown and she looked back at him. "Where are we headed anyway?"

"You're not going to freak out, are you?"

"Do I need to be freaking out?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Debatedly," he said cryptically as he changed lanes into an exit lane.

"Which part of Jodat do you live in?" Byleth asked instead.

"Do you know much about the city?" he asked, contemplating his answer.

"No," Byleth admitted. "This is my first time in the capital here. I've been through the Locket a few times, but I've never been this far east."

Claude laughed. "Oh, you're in for a treat then."

They drove in relative silence after that with the only interruption being the pleasant music of the radio. Byleth studied the architecture of the buildings around her. It was very different from Derdriu or Fhirdiad, the two biggest cities in Fódlan. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but the AC of the car was refreshing and made it so that Byleth wasn't uncomfortable in the heat.

After Claude exited the highway, he drove down two or three major streets before getting onto what looked like a private road that led away from the downtown core of Jodat. The area got sparser and sparser until it was like they were driving through private property. She turned back to Claude to ask him about it when she spotted a massive palace ahead of her. Her lips parted in surprise and her question died on her lips as Claude continued towards the palace.

At a gate on the edge of the grounds, security flagged them to a stop and Claude rolled down the driver's side and passenger windows. A security guard stepped up on either side of the car and they both looked in through the windows, assessing Claude and Byleth.

Claude said something to them in Almyran that Byleth didn't understand and the guard on the driver's side pulled away from the car. She watched as he gave a stiff, upper-body bow and Claude just nodded in reply. The guard signalled the security booth and the gate in front of them swung open, leaving them to drive closer to the palace.

"What is going on? Claude, where are we?" Byleth demanded as Claude drove leisurely towards the towering building.

He said something in Almyran to her, smirking and Byleth scowled. When he noted her displeasure, he sighed. "Look, whatever happens next, just promise me you'll let me explain before you freak out."

Byleth didn't get a chance to respond before they had reached the front of the palace. Claude parked the car and immediately got out, leaving Byleth to scramble out after him. He was already pulling her suitcase out of the trunk by the time she shut the door behind her. Byleth craned her neck and looked up at the gorgeous palace before them.

The heavy doors in front of them swung open and a man and a woman ran out, wearing similar uniforms. The man said something to Claude in Almyran and held out his hand for the car keys. Claude dropped them with a sigh and turned to the woman and spoke a few words quickly. The woman clicked her tongue against her teeth and frowned, but turned and walked back into the building.

"Right!" Claude said quickly. He whipped off his sunglasses and tucked them in the front of his shirt. His green eyes were sparkling as he waved his hand towards the palace. "Let's go inside."

Byleth felt rooted to the spot. "Claude, what is going on?" she demanded again. "You told me you lived near the Embassy in Jodat." She gestured to the palace. "This looks like a royal palace," she trailed off as she said it.

Byleth looked from the fancy building to Claude and then back at the long private driveway, massive gate, and private road leading up to it. She thought about the instant responses of the man and woman at the house and the guard at the gate. She recalled Claude's reaction at the airport when the girls had screamed at him.

She dropped her purse in her surprise.

Claude winced and quickly grabbed her bag, offering it to her. "Can we have this conversation inside, please?" he requested.

Byleth shook her head to clear it but followed him inside the palace. "Were you ever going to tell me, _Khalid_?" she asked, putting extra emphasis on the name.

He sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "I like the unknowns of everything better," he said as they walked into a grand entranceway.

"You're Khalid Al-Qadir," Byleth pointed out. "You're the Crown Prince of Almyra and you're studying at a Fódlani university under a fake name?"

Claude led her down a hallway towards what looked like dozens of large bedchambers. "Khalid Al-Qadir doesn't leave Almyra. Claude Rahan, the grandson of diplomat Oswald Rigaud, is studying at Garreg Mach."

Byleth stopped walking. "Same person," she said bluntly.

Claude stopped and turned to her. "My mother is the daughter of Oswald and I really am half-Fódlani. I just also happen to be the prince of Almyra. Now, my fascinating life story aside, I believe you came all this way to see the Royal Galleries didn't you?"

Byleth frowned. She was absolutely not done picking at Claude's cover. But, she did want to get into the Royal Galleries and it made sense that the prince would have access to the galleries and could get her in without the stigma she might normally face as a Fódlani native trying to view the private gallery of foreign royalty.

* * *

_Almyran Royal Galleries - 21 Ethereal Moon, 732 AU_

There were three tapestries. Each was the height of a wall and a full arm span wide. Each tapestry was preserved behind glass with a small inscription card at the base explaining what each depiction was supposed to be.

The first one of the three–the largest one–was the King of Dawn. The King of Dawn had been the leader of Almyra in the Post-Unification Years. The tapestry depicted him riding on the back of a dragon-like beast holding a bow in one hand and the Almyran flag in the other. His features were stoic and neutral, but he didn't look unkind or harsh, just neutral.

"I was named for him," Claude said from beside her, his eyes on the woven face of the king. "Khalid," he explained. "My father wanted me to have big footprints to fill, I suppose," Claude mused.

"No kidding," Byleth agreed.

In the hours that she'd been in Almyra, she had managed to wrest the rest of the story from Claude. He chose to study in Fódlan because he had friends there that he had made while visiting his grandfather during Oswald's work as an ambassador and because he wouldn't be recognized as royalty. That was the explanation for the fake Fódlani name as well.

Byleth stole a glance at Claude and then looked back at the King of Dawn. "You look like him," she said quietly.

Claude laughed. "My mother thinks so too. It's why she thinks it's especially funny that I chose to go by Claude at Garreg Mach."

"Funny?"

Claude gestured at the Almyran king. "He supposedly had Fódlani blood too. In the records of saved correspondence we have, apparently he went by a fake name for a while too." Claude said something in Almyran that sounded a bit like he was butchering his own name and shrugged. "It doesn't really have a good translation to Fódlani, but it sounds enough like Claude that it's where I got the idea for mine from."

Byleth laughed. "That's one way to fill someone's shoes."

Claude gave her a wry smile and nudged her towards the second tapestry. This one depicted a tall blonde man with an eyepatch brandishing a lance toward the sky. It wasn't hard to recognize the King's Relic as the lance in the pattern. This was an image of the Saviour King.

Byleth hummed to herself as she admired it. "It's interesting how Fhirdiad refuses to acknowledge these," she commented. "They're the only surviving visual depictions of the King and the Guardian and yet they claim that they're not accurate." She shook her head.

Claude pondered that thought for a moment. "I think it's partly because of the way they're portrayed. Look at the King of Dawn and how regal he looks in his full royal regalia. This king," he gestures to the Saviour King, "is wearing battle armour and has an eye patch. Those details aren't exactly flattering to a figure known in Fódlan as the Saviour King."

Byleth nodded. "I agree." She tipped her head to study the features of the Saviour King. "He's more expressive. It's like someone described this image to the artist whereas with the King of Dawn it was more of an artist's free interpretation."

"You'd be correct in saying that," Claude affirmed. "All three of these tapestries were commissioned by the King of Dawn. There was also supposedly some kind of enchantment placed on them to preserve them through time." He smiled fondly. "It's why they've survived so long."

Byleth turned away from the Saviour King to the last of the three tapestries. On this one, a woman stood pointing a blade high toward the sky. Light seemed to be pouring out of the blade and even out of her. She had mint green hair and eyes and an intense look on her face. Like the Saviour King, she appeared to be dressed in attire appropriate for battle. Notably, she lacked any iconography that would have linked her to the church of the time.

"That's a woman I would trust with my life," Claude commented, slipping his hands into his pockets casually. "I still think she looks like you."

Byleth touched her hair self-consciously. "I don't know," she confessed. "I thought seeing her in person would let me decide for sure if all of this was crazy, but I don't know. She's detailed too, so I'd bet that the King of Dawn described her to the artist in this image."

"It means it's probably accurate in the physical description," Claude finished. He glanced at her. "They've even gotten her sword right which tells me that the person who gave the details for these pieces knew her fairly well."

Byleth crossed her arms. "Yes. It's been widely speculated that there was some kinship between the King of Dawn, the Saviour King and the Guardian of Order. If it's true that the King of Dawn commissioned these pieces, it's basically proof that they were friends in some capacity or at least that they knew each other better than surviving Fódlani records indicate."

"Maybe they were friends," Claude said lightly.

Byleth smiled faintly. "Maybe," she agreed. "It would make for an interesting historical connection, wouldn't it?"

* * *

_Royal Palace, Fhirdiad - 7 Great Tree Moon, 1 AU_

"If this is an issue regarding unity, we should both be there," Byleth said firmly.

She placed her hands against the table and pushed herself to her feet. Her fingers crinkled the paper of the map and she immediately flinched at the four separate voices that cut her off.

"No!" they all urged, each in different tones.

Byleth sighed and looked around the room. In the council room of the palace, she felt out of her depth. Usually, if there were disputes, the issues were brought, with her husband, to Garreg Mach, but this had arisen during one of Byleth's few stays at the palace in the capital.

The meeting this time consisted of Dimitri and herself, Seteth, Ingrid and Sylvain, Ashe, Dedue, and Mercedes. They were really only missing Annette and Felix to have had the whole gang together, but Annette had had responsibilities in Dominic that had required more immediate attention and her fiancé had gone with her.

Sylvain, Seteth, Ingrid, and Dedue had all spoken out against Byleth's idea.

"With all due respect, Your Grace," Ingrid began, in a calmer tone, "since the issue is with unity, it's too dangerous to have you both go. Someone may see that as an opportunity."

"She's right," Sylvain agreed. "If I learned anything from my time dealing with Sreng, it's that you can't send all your best soldiers in your first wave. Diplomacy is just a special kind of war."

They were right, of course, but it didn't mean Byleth wasn't annoyed with the fact that she and Dimitri both wouldn't be able to go. Dimitri sighed and rose from his seat, skirting the table so he stood behind Byleth as he pressed a comforting hand to her back. He could sense her agitation and she knew he didn't like them being separated any more than she did.

"Then I will go," Dimitri said.

Byleth frowned. "You have other things to worry about here. Surely I can go?"

Seteth shook his head. "I'm afraid His Majesty is correct. The people in this region," he paused to gesture at the map, "are not our most pious believers. They were more affiliated with the Western Church before the war so I would not feel comfortable sending you, Your Grace. His Majesty should handle this."

Byleth folded her arms. "Fine," she replied shortly. "Is there anything else to be discussed?" She let her eyes flick between her friends.

Ashe shook his head. "That was my only report," he said. He stood from the table and gave a short bow to both Byleth and Dimitri. "I have some correspondence to write, but send for me when you're ready, Your Majesty."

Dedue and Mercedes both spared Byleth and Dimitri smiles before they left the room. Sylvain watched the others leave before he rose from the table as well. He glanced almost warily at Seteth who returned his gaze sternly. After a long moment, Seteth's eyes narrowed and he bowed to Byleth and Dimitri before sweeping out of the room. Sylvain inhaled like he was trying to gather himself and Ingrid reached up from her seat and took his hand.

"We had something we wished to tell you both before all of this started happening," Ingrid said, directing the words to Byleth and Dimitri.

"We wed last month," Sylvain confessed.

"What?" Dimitri asked. Byleth felt him tense behind her. He sounded offended. Byleth knew he was not overly shocked at the fact that his two friends had been wed, but he was surprised that there had not been a ceremony for him to attend.

Ingrid winced at Dimitri's tone of voice. "Your Majesty, it was a small ceremony. We hadn't intended for it to go down as it did, but other circumstances had called for it."

"Other circumstances?" Byleth pressed. She had a faint idea where the conversation was going, but it made something in her stomach twist uneasily.

"The same circumstances that will make it so that I will not be accompanying you on this endeavour," Ingrid admitted. "I am with child."

"Congratulations," Byleth said earnestly. Even though she truly meant the words, they felt bitter on her tongue.

Dimitri chuckled behind her. "I am happy for you both," he said firmly. "I hope your affair was suitable to you both at least."

Sylvain laughed. "Well it was just us, Mercedes, and Felix in a tiny room in Galatea, but it was perfect. We're sorry we didn't have a bigger celebration."

Dimitri shook his head. "No, I understand." His thumb stroked Byleth's back. "We understand the desire for privacy," he added.

Ingrid smiled then, a much more relaxed and sincere expression. "Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Grace."

Byleth forced a smile over the lump that was welling in her throat. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

With that, Sylvain helped Ingrid up and they each gave a short bow before slipping out of the council room, leaving Byleth alone with Dimitri. As soon as they were gone, Dimitri slid his hands up to rub at her shoulder blades. His thumbs pressed into tightened wads of muscles and Byleth tensed before relaxing under his touch.

"Are you alright, Beloved?" he asked quietly. "You're tense."

She shook her head. "I am fine," she assured. "I just find it funny how only moons ago we were joking that all of our friends would be pairing off and now they are. We have Felix and Annette's wedding next month and Dedue and Mercedes have begun courting as well. From Leicester, we have even heard of Marianne and Lorenz's betrothal and from Aegir, Ferdinand has proposed to Dorothea. And Sylvain and Ingrid will be having a child." Her last addendum came out softer than the rest and Dimitri picked up on it.

He dropped his hands to her waist and spun her so that they were face to face. Worry had furrowed his eyebrows and Byleth immediately reached up to cup his face and smooth out his concern with her thumbs. He didn't seem appeased by her gentle touch.

"I am sorry for the politics that are coupled with our relationship. If we could live quietly in a tiny house on a hill somewhere, I would, but," he trailed off, looking sad.

Byleth smiled at him and brushed her thumb along the string holding his eyepatch in place. "I know," she replied. "I am just afraid I am letting you down, my love."

Dimitri looked affronted. "How would you ever let me down?"

Byleth dropped her hands to cover his on her waist and slid one over her stomach, frowning. "I suppose hearing their news has only highlighted my own inadequacy on that topic."

Dimitri heaved a breath and quickly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tightly so she was pressed flush against him. His lips pressed firmly to the top of her head and Byleth traced her hands over the expensive silks of his jacket as he held her.

"We have been married for 4 months, my dear, anyone who is already worried about an heir is crazy."

Byleth leaned back enough that she could look into his face. "I am worried," she confessed suddenly.

"What?" he questioned softly.

Byleth shut her eyes. "I don't know if I'm truly mortal, Dimitri," she said. "Surely you have noticed that I lack a heartbeat, haven't you?" The way his brows knit told her that he hadn't processed the information even if he had noted it. "I don't know what I am," Byleth confessed quietly.

"Why would you not be mortal? You are flesh and blood in my arms here," he said firmly.

"No mortal can wield the Sword of the Creator without a Crest Stone," she countered.

Dimitri looked concerned for a moment. "What does this mean for you?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe these troubles we've had conceiving will never go away. Maybe I will never bear children. Maybe they'll all be born dead."

The last thought was so grim that her voice broke and she felt tears pricking against her eyes. Dimitri hugged her even more tightly and kissed her head again. She breathed in his scent and clutched to his warmth for reassurance.

"We will figure this out together," he said firmly. "We can talk to as many healers as it takes." He leaned back to stare into her face, his gaze unwavering. "But I will always love you, no matter what happens next, alright?"

Byleth exhaled and nodded. "Alright," she agreed.

* * *

_Royal Palace, Fhirdiad - 10 Great Tree Moon, 1 AU_

The bed next to her was already cooling by the time she awoke. Byleth's hand reached across the sheets and found nothing so she blinked her eyes open. She was alone, but there was movement in their chambers. She shifted, pushing herself up onto her elbows as she watched Dimitri dress from the bed.

Her movement drew his attention and he turned back toward her. "Good morning," he greeted pleasantly.

"It would be better if my husband hadn't risen without me," she teased.

Dimitri smiled faintly as he laced his pants and looked around for his shirt. "How unfortunate," he agreed. "More unfortunately, I do have to leave this morning," he reminded. "I have made Ashe, Dedue, and Sylvain linger long enough."

Byleth huffed. "I want to go with you."

"I know," Dimitri agreed. "I wish you could join us. But, Seteth is right. We should not test the Western Church at a time like this. The Kingdom is still fragile."

Byleth nodded. "I know." A small bead of pain pulsed in her abdomen and Byleth shifted so she was sitting fully to relieve the cramp in her stomach.

Dimitri located his shirt and was pulling it on when he glanced back at her and saw that she was sitting and that the sheet had pooled around her waist, leaving her exposed from the waist up. He immediately turned away and did up his shirt.

Byleth laughed at her husband. "Oh come on, are you really going to just leave right now?" Another cramp twisted in her stomach and she frowned, rubbing the heel of her palm against the soreness. More pain radiated when she touched it and she exhaled breathily against it.

Dimitri heard her and turned back to face her, looking worried. "Byleth?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes as the pain faded. "Just a cramp," she assured. "I'm fine-" she cut herself off with a gasp as a headache blossomed between her eyes. Pain spiked from her stomach again and she couldn't hold back the whine that slipped between her lips.

"Byleth!" Dimitri cried out as he bounded across the room. He knelt beside her bed on her side and reached for her. "Byleth, what's wrong?"

Byleth curled her arms around her stomach and whined at the splitting pain again. "My stomach," she gasped between the sharp waves of pain radiating out. A particularly bad pain seized her and she cried out in pain.

As the strong wave faded, Byleth felt something wet rush between her legs. Slowly, she reached down and felt for the wetness. When she pulled her fingers back, they were coated in a sticky dark red substance. She and Dimitri both stared in shock at the blood on her hand. Almost immediately after, another strong pain hit her and Byleth buckled to the side.

Dimitri's arms shot around her as he caught her before she could collapse completely. Byleth's eyes fluttered from pain and she felt them burn with tears. He immediately reached for the slip draped over the headboard and pulled it around her and cradled her in her arms.

"Byleth, are you alright?" he asked, fear clearly evident in his voice.

"It hurts, Dimitri," she breathed out as another sharp flare caused her vision to tunnel momentarily. She felt a few tears glide down her cheeks as her headache intensified. Byleth rested her head against his shoulder and tried to steady her breathing.

Dimitri's arms shifted and then she was suddenly airborne as he held her tightly. "Mercedes!" he yelled.

Byleth's whole body twitched from pain and Dimitri immediately stood from the floor and made for the door to their chambers, still holding Byleth in his arms. He slammed the doors open so hard that she was pretty sure the wood splintered and yelled for Mercedes again.

Down the hall, in the guest chambers, a door slammed open and Sylvain sprang into the hallway wearing a pair of pants and two different shoes. Ingrid peered around her husband down the hall towards Dimitri and Byleth.

"Mercedes!" Dimitri yelled again.

This was finally enough to catch her attention as Mercedes's door slammed open and she ran out into the hallway towards them. She reached their side quickly and Dimitri lowered himself and Byleth to the ground so Mercedes could kneel and assess Byleth.

"What happened?" Mercedes asked calmly. Her brow was knit, betraying her worry, but she kept her tone even and clear.

"She was just suddenly in pain and then she was bleeding," Dimitri said quickly, his voice wavering.

Byleth turned her head toward Mercedes and watched grief spread over her healer's face. She whimpered when her stomach muscles spasmed and Dimitri made a noise like he had been stabbed as he looked down at her.

"Bring her to the infirmary, quickly," Mercedes instructed, jolting back to her feet. She spun in the hallway and saw that the rest of the guests in this wing, Dedue, Sylvain, and Ingrid were all standing a few feet back, staring on in horror. "Ingrid, please, I'll need your help."

Ingrid looked startled. "Mercedes, I'm not a healer," she argued.

Mercedes shook her head firmly. "You're a woman," she pointed out and then immediately started down the hall to the infirmary.

Byleth clung to consciousness as Dimitri practically jogged with her to the infirmary. As soon as he had laid her down on one of the cots, Mercedes shooed him from the room.

"Absolute not," he hissed. "I am not leaving her."

"Yes you are," Mercedes said firmly. "You will wait outside and let me work, Dimitri."

His shoulders crumpled and he gave Byleth's hand a firm squeeze. "Please help her," he whispered to Mercedes. Dimitri left then, sliding past Ingrid who stood tentatively in the door to the infirmary.

Mercedes immediately set to work creating a poultice of herbs and called Ingrid over. "I need her to eat this," she instructed, handing Ingrid the bowl of crushed herbs.

Mercedes cast a Fortify spell and Byleth gasped at the relief the spell gave her. Ingrid carefully fed her the bitter herbs and Byleth choked them down, forcing herself to swallow despite the pains that made her gag. Mercedes ran a comforting hand through her hair as she cast another healing spell.

"That's it, Byleth, it shouldn't be long now."

Ingrid held her hand and Mercedes continued brushing her fingers through Byleth's hair for what felt like an hour before there was a last weak pulse of pain in her stomach that faded. Byleth closed her eyes and just took several deep breaths to steady her breathing. She dimly felt Mercedes move around to her lower body and do a brief clean-up before she came back up to be level with Byleth's head.

"Byleth," she said gently, "did you know you were pregnant?"

Byleth's eyes shot open and she half-sat up on the cot just out of reflex. "What?" she demanded breathily.

Mercedes gave her a sad smile. "I guess that's a no," she assumed.

Ingrid squeezed Byleth's hand. "I'm so sorry, Byleth," she murmured.

Byleth breathed in sharply and looked between the two women. "Why are you sorry?" When Mercedes didn't answer immediately, Byleth jerked her hand away from Ingrid and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Why are you sorry?" she pressed.

"You miscarried, Byleth," Mercedes said quietly. "We lost the baby."

A chill spread from the centre of her chest through her whole being and Byleth shifted so she was sitting up. She wound her fingers in the thin silk of her shift and stared blankly ahead at the wall. She hadn't even known there had been life inside of her. Mercedes and Ingrid, to their benefit, didn't try to comfort her further. Instead, Mercedes sent Ingrid out to retrieve Dimitri.

In the back of her mind, Byleth heard Mercedes explaining what had happened to Dimitri. She heard him let out a choked sob before he was sitting on the edge of the cot, pulling her into his arms tightly.

Numb, Byleth let Dimitri whisper words of comfort into her ear and she closed her eyes and just listened to the steady thrumming of his heart.

* * *

_Author's Note: I've got the outlines for chapters 6 and 7, but I've got work to do so it'll probably be another week-two weeks before we see another update, but I hope I didn't crush too many hearts with this chapter. I can't exactly leave anyone to a happy ending, can we?_


	6. VI - Am I Dreaming Or Awake

VI - Am I Dreaming Or Awake

* * *

_Old Monastery Ruins, Garreg Mach University - 19 Pegasus Moon, 733 AU_

It was spectacular. She had noted the elegance of the old architecture the first time they had been down to the excavation site, but it was something that caught her off guard every time she came down here.

Byleth passed the security sign-in table and flashed her ID badge as the guards nodded at her and she moved over to the supply table. Shovels and trammels and boxes of gloves were littered over the table along with a carafe of coffee that someone had bought for the team. Byleth helped herself to a small cup of coffee and walked further into the chamber.

They had begun in one of the main tombs of the monastery. It was the one that had been worked on all those years ago, so Seteth had chosen it as the initial starting point for the current excavation. It was also the only chamber that had been approved for inhabitants by structural engineers. The two other known crypts were still under investigation to see if they were structurally sound enough to support a bunch of archeologists digging around in them. Then, of course, there were rumours that there were dozens of other sealed-off chambers down here somewhere.

Byleth sipped her coffee as she walked forward through the in-process dig. It was early, just past 6, so the only people who had arrived were herself, Seteth, and Harriet, one of the post-docs in Seteth's lab. Byleth picked her way towards Seteth who was crouched in a marked square as he assessed a handful of ancient coins he had unearthed. She cleared her throat and he looked up.

"Good morning, Byleth," he greeted politely as he stood up. "Reporting for duty?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "I assume I can take the same sector as before?"

Seteth shook his head. "No, I've actually assigned that to James today. He's working with Annette, Ingrid, and Ignatz over there. Harriet will take Lysithea and Linhardt, but I was hoping you would be able to manage Claude, Edelgard, and Dimitri."

Byleth was surprised. Usually, Seteth split the undergrads into pairs, not a pair and two trios. Additionally, he usually had her working with Lysithea and Linhardt.

Seteth continued, not concerned with Byleth's surprise. "I want you guys to start over there. I've already marked your area for the day." Seteth gestured to the far wall of the tomb.

Byleth could see the staked-out area. It was further away from the main body of the dig than anyone else had been working, towards a crumbled section of what was probably a statue. She turned to Seteth and raised an eyebrow.

"Why the new site? We've been working fine in other places."

Seteth sighed. "I'm starting to think there isn't much in this particular chamber. As much as I hate to admit it, most of what was here was recovered by Catherine five years ago. She did good work while she was down here."

Byleth smiled sympathetically at her advisor. "Seteth, we've only been working for a few weeks." She gestured to the coins he had unearthed. "That's something, isn't it?"

He chuckled. "It's a small start," he admitted. "I do have an admission to make though," he continued. "I intend to send a group of people up to Fhirdiad to retrieve some additional supplies from the National Museum this weekend. I was hoping you would be willing to do that."

Byleth blinked. "Leave the dig and go to Fhirdiad?" She was almost a bit offended. She had spent so much time preparing for the dig and helping to prepare the undergrads that it felt a bit cruel to ask her to step out on a trip for errands.

Seteth hummed. "You would leave Saturday morning early and make it to Fhirdiad by the late evening. Sunday you'll collect the supplies and come back. You should be back late Sunday night in plenty of time. I actually hoped to send some of our students with you."

Byleth put a hand on her hip. "Which students?"

"Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude," he explained. "Dimitri lives in Fhirdiad and both Claude and Edelgard have residences there due to their parents."

Byleth sighed. "Fine, I'll do it. I don't have a car, though, you know that."

Seteth shrugged. "You can borrow mine or take one of theirs if they have one. Flayn is in town for a while so I won't be troubled if you do take mine."

Byleth nodded. Before she could respond, a chatter of noise caught her attention and she turned and saw a gaggle of people at the sign-in desk including all of the undergrads. Seteth nodded to her and made his way towards them to assign their duties for the day. Byleth trailed after him, biting her lip.

Seteth was just giving out the directions when Byleth caught up and Claude caught her eye with a smug grin as Seteth explained that they would be working together that day and the next. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Since her trip to Almyra at the end of the term, she and Claude had become even closer. He still liked to bother her about random historical or archeological things and it happened even more frequently than it had occurred in the previous term because now she wasn't his TA.

When Seteth finished the briefing, he turned to her. "Could you ask them about this weekend?"

Byleth nodded. She walked over to the supply table and plucked a pair of gloves out of one of the boxes, snapping them on. The undergrads were mostly chatting amongst themselves, but Claude turned his full attention to Byleth as soon as she approached.

"So, a new quadrant?" he questioned. Byleth shrugged.

She glanced at Edelgard and Dimitri who had also turned their attention towards her. "Good morning," she greeted the three of them.

Edelgard smiled. "An early one," she noted jokingly.

Dimitri laughed. "Claude, Ignatz, and Annette are the only three crazy enough to normally be up at this time."

Annette gasped, offended. "Hey!"

Ignatz just chuckled. "Archery events are good at being scheduled super early."

Ingrid laughed. "Yeah, well, I'm normally up too. Felix really doesn't know how to stop messaging at 6 am when he's up and going to fencing."

Most of the undergrads filtered away then, leaving Byleth with her trio of students. She straightened her shoulders and fiddled with the hem of one of her gloves.

"Are any of you busy this weekend?"

Claude's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Uh," he muttered, looking caught off guard.

Dimitri frowned slightly. "I'm supposed to celebrate Felix's birthday tomorrow night, but not beyond that," he admitted.

"Well, Seteth has asked the four of us to go to Fhirdiad to pick up some supplies. We'll be back by Sunday."

Edelgard pursed her lips. "I suppose that makes sense, but why all four of us?"

Byleth winced as she recalled a reason why Seteth might have chosen to send away Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude in particular. Claude picked up on her expression right away and he laughed dryly.

"Probably has something to do with that argument last weekend," he noted.

Edelgard and Dimitri both flinched as they all recalled the bitter verbal sparring match that had occurred the last time they had been on-site together. Claude had identified something Edelgard had unearthed before she had had the chance to and she had snapped at him. Claude had retorted right back which had caused Dimitri to step in and defend Edelgard. Of course, then both of them had snapped at Dimitri for intervening where he wasn't needed. Tensions had been prickly between them all since, much to the discomfort of anyone forced to work with them.

"Well, maybe this will be a good thing," Dimitri offered.

Edelgard huffed and turned her full attention to Byleth. "Where are we working today?"

Byleth gestured to the far-off plot. Edelgard nodded, grabbed a clipboard from the supply table and stalked off, heading in the right direction. Claude rolled his eyes at the dismissal from the Prime Minister's daughter before he followed in her footsteps, spinning a small shovel in his hands.

Dimitri sighed. "This is weird for us, Byleth," he admitted to her. Byleth eyed him curiously and Dimitri frowned after his friends. "It's almost like being down here brings up some unspoken tension between us that we didn't know existed."

Byleth took a deep breath. "Well, let's not let grievances get between us and work, alright?"

He nodded. "Of course."

Dimitri immediately walked over to join the others at the dig spot. Byleth took a bracing breath and followed after them. She was going to need all of her patience today if the three of them were going to be as snippy as they had been previously.

Byleth was about to kneel down next to Edelgard to begin her own digging when something on the wall caught her eye. She stepped over the boundary rope and narrowed her eyes. The three students paused in their own work to watch her. There was something etched faintly in the crumbled stones.

"Dimitri, hand me a brush please," she requested. Dimitri fumbled with the brush for a moment before he pressed it into her palm.

Claude crossed the rope to stand next to her, eyes sharp and curious. "What do you see, Teach?"

Byleth ran the brush gently over the surface of the wall. A few layers of dirt drifted off, but it was clear that the sigil she was curious about was more deeply buried. "Something right here," she murmured quietly, gesturing to the area she was brushing.

Claude made an affirming noise and this drew both Edelgard and Dimitri closer as the four of them stared at the mark on the crumbled wall. Byleth pressed the pointed handle of the brush against the mark and scraped at the stone. Dust and dirt fell away, revealing the pattern more fully. Byleth brushed it again, clearing away more layers of dirt until she'd uncovered what portion she could.

The carving was some kind of looping pattern. It was incomplete, with probably only a third of it intact, but it seemed weirdly familiar. Byleth lowered the brush and lifted her hand. She pressed a gloved finger into one of the pattern's grooves. As soon as she touched it, it felt like something in her had been electrocuted. She jerked back, glancing between her finger and the stone.

"Teach?" Claude questioned. He sounded concerned, but Byleth's curious instincts were stronger.

She pressed her hand against the marking again and felt a similar prickle of energy. This time she didn't pull back, pressing her palm to the stone as well. The energy spiked and Byleth blacked out so fast she didn't realize it was happening.

* * *

She dreamt of the weird throne again.

This time, the chamber was intact and not in the state of decay she normally saw it in. Byleth turned, assessing the massive room. It was some kind of tomb, she already knew that, but she wanted to find a hint of where it was. Massive stone statues decorated the four corners of the tomb, but as she turned toward the throne again, there were two figures standing in front of it.

She tried to step towards them, but her feet were anchored in place. She blinked and the figures blurred as if they weren't really there, but they didn't fade away. It appeared to be a man and a woman, but their details were fuzzy no matter how hard Byleth tried to focus on their features.

They were conversing quietly. Byleth heard the murmured timbres of the two voices and reaffirmed her suspicions of one man and one woman, but the words themselves felt like they were travelling through water to reach her so she couldn't pick out anything in particular.

She tried again to force her body to move quickly, but a pulse of energy rippled through her so strongly she almost keeled over. She reflexively lowered her head and closed her eyes tightly When she lifted her head again, the figures were gone and her surroundings had changed. She was staring at the throne head-on from the base of it.

Byleth exhaled in surprise. She lifted a hand carefully and touched the stone arm of the throne. Oddly enough, the stone felt hot to the touch. The warmth tingled in her fingertips and there was a flash of white before her face. Byleth's vision whited out from the burst of light, but when it came back to her, there was a sigil floating in front of her face.

It was the sigil that had been carved in the stone at the dig site but complete, with intricate loops and a crisscrossed pattern. It hovered in the air in front of her as she kept her hand pressed to the throne. Byleth lifted her free hand and tried to touch the symbol. Her hand passed through it cleanly, but she could feel a warmth emanating from it.

"Byleth!" a voice cried out, loud and sharp and concerned.

She spun, drawing her hand back to her chest. She was alone in the chamber, but her sudden turn caused her vision to dim as quickly as it had during the dig and the dream faded.

* * *

Byleth blinked open her eyes slowly and immediately winced at the bright sunlight overhead. It took her only the briefest second to realize that someone was holding her in their arms and her head was resting against a shoulder. Voices filled her ears as her senses returned to her and she let out a low groan. The arms holding her instantly tensed and Byleth tilted her head and looked up to see that it was Dimitri holding her.

"Byleth!" Seteth exclaimed.

She tipped her head away from Dimitri, ignoring the faint ringing in her ears and saw her thesis supervisor standing next to him, staring at her in concern. "Seteth?" she mumbled.

"Teach, are you okay?" Claude asked. Byleth's eyes flicked to him where he stood next to Seteth. Edelgard was hovering on Claude's other side.

All four of them looked extremely concerned. Byleth shifted in Dimitri's grip and flicked her eyes back to him.

"Can you put me down?" she requested. "I'm fine," she said.

Dimitri frowned, but he did lower her to her feet. Byleth was surprisingly steady on her feet, but all of her muscles felt weirdly sore.

"What happened?" Seteth asked. By his tone, it was clear this was not the first time he had asked the question. He also had clearly directed it at the three students, not at Byleth.

"I touched that symbol and then everything went black," Byleth said, answering him anyways. Seteth frowned.

Edelgard folded her arms. "But, why would that make you pass out?" she prompted.

Byleth shrugged, genuinely puzzled. "I don't know," she admitted. "But, I feel fine now."

Seteth studied her face with a creased brow. "You're not going back down there today," he said firmly. "Or tomorrow." Byleth opened her mouth to protest and Seteth shook his head sternly. "Absolutely not," he insisted.

Byleth huffed. "Seteth, I'm fine."

"Byleth, you just collapsed. I don't really think it's fair to say that," Dimitri said gently.

She pressed her lips into a line. She glanced around and noticed that they were standing at the courtyard just outside of the entrance to the dig site. She couldn't have been unconscious for that long if they had only gotten this far when she was out.

"How about you and I go back to the lab and do some cataloguing?" Claude suggested, lifting the clipboard he was holding. "We can get started on entering this stuff into the database."

"That's agreeable," Seteth consented. "I still want you to call Flayn tonight though."

Flayn was a nurse and Byleth knew that Seteth wanted Flayn to do a full check-up, but having Byleth call her was his way of compromising with her. Byleth sighed and nodded.

"I'll call her later," she said.

"Great, well if that's settled, we can head out, Teach," Claude said cheerfully.

He gestured towards the main university campus and Byleth sighed again and headed in the direction of the lab with Claude following on her heels. They walked in silence right up until they entered the building when Claude finally couldn't hold his tongue.

"What happened, Teach?"

Byleth glared at him half-heartedly before shrugging. "I fainted, apparently," she muttered dryly.

Claude laughed. "No, what did you dream about?"

She stopped mid-step and stared at him. "How the hell do you know that I dreamed?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, that was a wild guess, but I'm glad it was correct."

Byleth groaned and kept walking, trying to outpace Claude. He mostly kept up and caught up right outside the door to the lab.

"Was it bad?" he ventured carefully.

"Confusing," Byleth corrected and slipped past him into the lab.

"Confusing," Claude echoed as he followed her. "Care to elaborate."

"Same throne, but there were people. I couldn't hear or see them clearly," Byleth said shortly.

She dropped into her chair and grabbed a pad of paper. Closing her eyes, she conjured the symbol that had appeared when she had touched the throne. She grabbed a pencil and made a very rough sketch of what it had looked like. She slid it across the table towards Claude.

"I saw this too."

His eyes widened as he obviously recognized it from the dig site. He slid his pen off of the clipboard and carefully drew a half-circle around the part of it that Byleth had uncovered. He tapped the pen tip against the page and stared at her.

"What does this mean?"

"I have no idea," she sighed. Byleth rubbed at her temples. "Everything about this is giving me a headache."

Claude laughed at her. "Well, let's do something distracting then." He grabbed a TV remote from one of the shelves and pointed it at the lab TV in the corner.

Most of the time, James just used the TV to play whatever satellite music channel he wanted, but sometimes Seteth or Harriet would have the news on in the background as they worked. It appeared that Seteth or Harriet had been using it last since it was playing the news when it turned on.

"_Enbarr Police are investigating the mysterious death of a woman recently identified as Monica Ochs_," the TV reporter explained.

Every muscle in Byleth's body went completely rigid and she rose to her feet, staring at the screen in disbelief. The screen changed from the reporter at a desk to two images: one a plain portrait photo and the other a police sketch of the same girl. Byleth's blood ran cold as ice as she recognized the police sketch. Both detailed a woman with delicate features and a slender face. She had dark red hair and thin lips.

Claude looked between Byleth and the TV. "Teach?" he inquired.

"I know her," Byleth said reflexively.

"_Ochs was identified as a person of interest in a murder investigation in the central city of Remire five years ago. A witness described the sketch on the right which was identified to be Ochs. At the time, police had been unable to locate Ochs for questioning and the investigation was eventually left unsolved,_" the reporter continued.

Claude touched Byleth's arm. "You knew a wanted murderer?"

"I described that sketch," she said numbly, pointing to the police sketch.

Claude's hand on her arm tightened and he immediately shut the TV off. "What?" he said, sounding startled.

Byleth sank back into her seat and stared blankly at the table in front of her. Her blood was racing and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Monica's face was engraved in her mind. It had been for five years and it was jarring to see it again after so long. Her hands trembled and she was shot straight into a memory of a dark rainy alleyway in Remire as her father bled out in her lap with sirens wailing in the background. She started to feel lightheaded.

Byleth didn't realize she wasn't breathing until Claude forcibly placed himself between Byleth's chair and the table and gripped her face between his hands. "Byleth, you need to breathe," he ordered. "Breathe out," he instructed sternly.

Byleth exhaled and Claude shook his head, shifting a hand to press against her stomach.

"Exhale," he said harshly.

Byleth pushed out more air until it hurt and Claude nodded and she took a desperate breath in out of reflex. Claude continued coaxing her to breathe for several minutes. Byleth's chest ached from the action of it. The fuzziness at the edges of her vision she had barely processed faded and Byleth started to come back to herself. Her eyes were burning and her head was pounding and her cheeks were wet as she belatedly realized she was crying.

Claude was kneeling on the floor in front of her, still holding her face and staring at her with a concerned expression on his face. "Are you alright?" he asked her quietly once her breathing had settled.

Byleth closed her eyes and felt her whole body tremble with a half-sob. "She killed my father," she whispered.

Claude said something sharp in Almyran which was probably a curse before he gently pulled her head down so that he could press their foreheads together.

"I'm so sorry," he muttered. "I can't imagine what this feels like. Do you want me to get Seteth or someone else?"

"No," Byleth mumbled. With Claude's forehead pressed against hers, she could feel his breaths gently fanning against her face. She focused on breathing in time with him. His presence was calming and comforting. "Just don't leave," she added quietly.

* * *

_Fhirdiad Royal Palace - 3 Pegasus Moon, 7 AU_

As soon as the servant had left the chamber, Dimitri kissed her. He kissed her like he was drowning and she twisted her fingers into his hair as she kissed him back. He hardly waited a minute into the kiss before his hands were under her thighs, lifting her up so her legs closed around his hips.

Byleth broke their lips apart to trail kisses along Dimitri's jaw as he walked slowly towards the bed. A growl rumbled in his chest and she almost laughed at the sound. She tilted her head further to try and kiss at his neck, but the collar of his shirt impeded her motion and she huffed.

"Dimitri," she complained, tugging at the collar.

He laughed, a low rumble that she felt resonate through her body. He dropped her abruptly back on the bed and climbed onto it after her. Byleth instantly went to work at the buttons on his shirt, her fingers slipping over the silk-capped buttons as she struggled with them. Dimitri finally managed to get his shirt open and he leaned back to slip off his jacket and shirt.

Byleth was able to admire her husband for a moment before a pang of deep-seated guilt flooded her chest and her smile dropped. Dimitri dropped his jacket and shirt to the floor, but as he turned back towards her, Byleth pulled her knees up to her chin and cast her eyes to the side, withdrawing from him. Dimitri paused and stayed seated on the end of the bed as he watched her.

"Byleth?" he questioned softly.

She closed her eyes and inhaled shakily. She pressed her forehead against her knees and wrapped her arms over her shins, her fingernails digging into the sides of her calves. Dimitri didn't press her for words, but she felt the bed dip as he started moving towards her slowly.

"Can I touch you, my love?" he asked carefully.

Byleth opened her eyes and saw him kneeling on the bed next to her. She tipped sideways into him and he caught her, wrapping his arms around her. They sat in the middle of their bed for a long moment without saying anything. Dimitri ran his hands through her hair soothingly, pulling out combs and pins and placing them aside until her hair was limp down her back. Byleth closed her eyes again and let him remove all of the pins without complaint.

"The court hates me," Byleth said quietly once Dimitri had finished his task. Her husband tensed, but she didn't let him cut in. "I see it in the way that they whisper when we're together. The only reason they're not open about it is most of them are scared to death of Felix and Ingrid. The common people can't be any better."

"Byleth," Dimitri murmured. "The people love you. You are a hero of the Unification War and the leader of the Central Church of Fódlan. You have been a wonderful queen and no one looks down upon you," he assured.

Byleth twisted so that she could look him in the face. "We have no heir, Dimitri," she said bluntly. "We have stripped the politics from the church and we are building a free Fódlan. The people want security on the throne." She ran a palm along Dimitri's bare chest. "I bear no children, that we can be sure of."

Dimitri frowned. "We are young yet. There should be no worry of children yet," he said stubbornly.

Byleth pursed her lips and let her hand wander up to touch the side of his face. "Ingrid and Sylvain have three beautiful daughters. Annette and Felix have a son with another on the way. Mercedes and Dedue have two of their own." Her thumb grazed Dimitri's cheekbone. "We are outnumbered, my love."

Dimitri closed his good eye and shook his head. "You are my wife, Byleth. The court does not get a say in that matter. There were certainly no protests when we were wed."

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "There were," she countered. "They were just never brought to your attention."

Dimitri stared at her. "There were?"

"Some of the church officials didn't like the idea of the union because they rightfully thought I would remove power from the church to distance state and religion. Seteth had them removed from their positions of power. Some of the nobles didn't like the idea that the Saviour King would marry anyone other than their own flesh and blood. Especially someone who was born a commoner. Felix and Sylvain and Ingrid are quite good at squashing rumours in court," Byleth explained sadly.

Dimitri looked pained. "You've carried this for 6 years and you never told me? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

She kissed him between the eyes. "You had enough to worry about. I loved you and I was good enough at ignoring whispers. I believed in what we were doing."

"You say loved," he mumbled, looking almost nervous.

Byleth kissed his lips. "I love you," she corrected herself. "I will always love you."

"We can figure the rest out later," Dimitri murmured.

Byleth sighed wistfully at his optimism. "Dimitri, I do not know how much longer the kingdom will wait for an heir."

He scowled. "We went through hell to create this kingdom." His hands on her waist tightened possessively. "They can wait."

Byleth pecked him again. "I've asked Seteth to take me to see Rhea," she confessed suddenly. "She has settled in Zanado and Catherine keeps watch over her. Seteth has agreed to accompany me."

Dimitri stilled. "When?"

"Three days from now. After I return to the monastery."

He considered her words for a moment. "I suppose I cannot come with you."

"No," Byleth agreed. "Seteth says she will likely only speak with me." She cupped his face between her hands. "I'm sorry I won't be here to receive Ashe and Petra with you."

Dimitri chuckled faintly. "I'm not worried about Brigid. Ashe is a good friend and he and Petra are a well-suited match. I do sorely miss his skills as a scout and spy," Dimitri added.

Byleth shifted so that she was facing Dimitri fully, kneeling between his legs. She reached up and pressed her palms against his bare chest, pushing him back against the mattress. "I miss having all of our friends around, but there are certainly certain perks of having just us around."

Dimitri's hands squeezed her waist as he guided her on top of him and they didn't need words for the rest of the night.

* * *

_Somewhere in Zanado - 6 Pegasus Moon, 7 AU_

"Byleth," Seteth said, catching her attention.

She turned towards him, tearing her attention from the small house that was just down the road. "Yes?"

Seteth gave her an unreadable expression. "I am unsure if what Rhea is willing to tell you will actually be of much help. I am also sorry that Flayn and I were unable to tell you more ourselves. I had hoped to avoid this."

Byleth touched Seteth's arm. "Flayn is alright," she assured. "She wrote last week saying she is safe and is travelling with Ignatz." Byleth smiled faintly to herself. "I still almost can't believe I never noticed the connection there."

Seteth frowned. "I wish she would have stayed."

Byleth squeezed his arm. "She is young at heart, Seteth. You cannot be her concerned father and her overbearing older brother at the same time. Let her have this time."

He nodded. "We are not here to discuss my relationship with my daughter." He gestured towards the house. "Come."

Byleth followed Seteth towards the house. Catherine stood outside, straight-backed and poised, just as Byleth remembered her. She was carrying Thunderbrand and her hand rested comfortably on the Relic's hilt.

"Hello Catherine," Byleth greeted once the knight had nodded in greeting to her.

Catherine's eyes were sharp and not exactly welcoming. "I wish you didn't have to have this conversation."

"Rhea said she would have it," Byleth countered sternly.

Catherine backed down immediately and opened the door, gesturing for Byleth to enter. Byleth stepped past her and into the small house and closed the door behind her. She heard Catherine and Seteth start talking in quiet, muffled tones.

The house was small and Byleth had stepped right into the kitchen. Rhea was seated at the table nearby, her posture straight and neutral as Byleth approached and sat across from her. For a moment, neither of them spoke, until the silence became so heavy that Byleth grew uncomfortable.

"Seteth told me what you did," she began.

Rhea's lips tightened. "I saved your life."

Byleth forced her expression not to show her distaste. "You used me to try and resurrect Sothis," she corrected.

"I created your mother," Rhea said, ignoring the accusation. "I did many things to try and save my mother, but creating your mother was one of my many regrets. She was born dead and I saved her by placing the Crest Stone within her heart."

This much, Seteth had known and had explained to her. She also knew the story of her parents' meeting and getting married thanks to her father's journal.

"My father bore the Crest of Flames too, didn't he?" Byleth questioned.

Rhea looked straight into her eyes and the pale green of them was cool and unflinching. "I gifted it to him when he saved my life all that time ago. When he and your mother conceived, I feared for you. I did not know if Sitri could bear children. My concern was apparently warranted. You were born without a heartbeat so your mother begged me to transfer the Crest Stone to you to save you. I did and you lived and she died."

Byleth felt her face twitch with pain and she inhaled sharply to regain her composure. "So you placed the Crest Stone inside of me and that is why I have no heartbeat."

"That is why you are alive," Rhea corrected. "You would have been dead without it."

Byleth frowned. "What am I?"

"I don't know. Your mother wasn't truly mortal, and neither were you, but since you merged with the goddess it has been far more complicated than that."

Byleth twisted her hands and pressed them, below the edge of the table, against the flat of her stomach. "I'll never be able to have children, will I?"

This time there was a glimmer of sympathy in Rhea's gaze. "My dear," she said softly, "I don't believe your body could ever handle that stress." She studied Byleth for a moment and Byleth caught a flicker of guilt in Rhea's face. "There is something else about the Crest Stone too," she continued softly.

Byleth felt ill, but she had a pretty good idea of where this conversation was going. "Sothis kept its power contained when she was inside me. It's been killing me since then, hasn't it?"

Rhea looked down as the guilt swallowed her expression. "The Crest Stone's power is not meant for mortal bodies. There is a reason your mother was so frail. It is likely then, that its power is eating you from the inside out. But, without it, you are dead anyway."

* * *

An hour later, Byleth burst out of the house, slamming the door open, and scared both Catherine and Seteth. She immediately stalked away from the house, trembling with grief and pain. Seteth followed immediately while Catherine disappeared to check on Rhea.

"Byleth!" Seteth called. He ran ahead to cut her off and grabbed her by the upper arms, forcing her to acknowledge him.

"The Crests came from the blood of the Nabateans. The Relics came from their bones," Byleth said. Rhea had confessed the origin of the weapons shortly after admitting Byleth was running on borrowed time.

Seteth looked saddened, but not overly surprised. "I suspected as much," he admitted.

"I'm dying," she said next.

This appeared to catch Seteth more off guard as his hands dropped from her arms. "What?" he demanded.

Byleth closed her eyes. "Sothis kept the Stone's energy at bay. It's consuming me slowly now that she is gone."

"Then we remove it," Seteth said sternly.

"I'm dead without it," Byleth continued. She opened her eyes to look at him and saw the grief and sadness in his face. "Thank you for bringing me here to answer my questions," she said. "I would like to fly back alone to have a moment to think, so feel free to stay here and catch up further if you would like."

She didn't wait for a reply before she headed off to where they had left the wyverns they had flown here on. She did hear his footsteps following behind her as he pursued her, but he did not try to speak to her again and for that she was grateful.

* * *

_Author's Note: And at last I have finally started to earn the "mystery" genre. I'm on Tumblr as nicolewrites if you want to yell. Exams are almost over so maybe that means a faster update next time. Stay safe everyone._


	7. VII - What's a Little Fear

VII - What's A Little Fear

* * *

_Fhirdiad National Museum of Unification, Fhirdiad - 22 Pegasus Moon, 733 AU_

"It's a beautiful sword, isn't it?"

Byleth tore her eyes from the relic of the old ages to glance at Claude who had just joined her. He was studying the artifact in front of them with a now-familiar analytical gaze. Byleth nodded and turned back to it. She had been to the museum in the capital once before, but the Guardian's Sword was such an iconic relic that the room it was kept in was always completely packed solid, so she hadn't gotten a chance to get a close up look at it.

"It is," she agreed with Claude.

He glanced around the room, noting its emptiness, and then looked back at the sword. "This isn't exactly how I thought I would be seeing it for the first time. I had imagined more people and much more noise."

Byleth smiled faintly at that. "What? You don't enjoy the quiet of this place before it's open to the public?"

Claude shrugged. "It's almost disconcerting."

Byleth nodded. "Last time I was here I didn't get to see many of the things that I wanted to see because there were too many people. I didn't think we'd get to be in here before opening today while they prepared the supplies for us."

Claude hummed his agreement. "It's strange, for sure. I spent a fair amount of my childhood in the capital, but there was a part of me that never wanted to come here."

Byleth was surprised at that. "Considering how much time you told me you spent in the galleries, that's surprising to me."

Claude shrugged again. "I don't know, maybe I just preferred Almyra's description of them, not this blurry, half-assed monument to their accomplishments."

Byleth considered his words. There was certainly a stark difference between the Almyran and Fódlani representations of the Unification Era. Almyra seemed set on preserving and respecting the ages while Fódlan was always more interested in analyzing it and interpreting things. It made for interesting contrasts in records of historical events, especially since so much of Fódlan's precious written history had been destroyed in two disasters: the Scorch and the Riots.

"Where are Edelgard and Dimitri?" Byleth asked Claude after another moment.

Claude turned and pointed at the doorway to the room. This room wasn't a particularly large exhibit as it held the Guardian's Sword and a few things that were supposed to be personal relics that had belonged to the Guardian of Order including an old, rust-speckled silver shield and a very old, very worn leather diary in a glass case. The words on its pages were far too worn to read and Byleth was still shocked that the pages hadn't turned to dust a hundred years ago.

Byleth walked in the direction Claude was pointing, heading back into the main room of this particular exhibit. True to his word, Edelgard and Dimitri were standing on the far side of the room studying a few of the artifacts in particular. Claude kept pace with her as she walked towards them, glancing at the room's artifacts as she went.

This was the Relic Room. Not counting the Guardian's Sword, every single Relic that had been created was supposed to be stored here. There were 12 of them in total and each had a name and a history. They were almost frightening to look at with their bone-like design and Byleth knew they had likely been incredibly powerful in their time.

Dimitri and Edelgard both appeared to be studying the three Relics that were the centrepieces of the exhibit: a bow, a lance, and an axe. Neither of them noticed Byleth coming so she cleared her throat, catching their attention.

"The Lords' Relics," she explained. "Failnaught, Areadbhar, and Aymr."

Edelgard nodded and Dimitri turned his gaze to Byleth as if he was waiting for her to explain more. "Supposedly wielded by the King of Dawn, the Saviour King, and the last Emperor of the Adrestian Empire."

"This one looks slightly different," Edelgard mused, assessing Aymr with a careful glance.

"It is," Claude agreed. "Records show that Aymr was supposedly the only one of these 12, including the Guardian's Sword, that was not wielded by one of Fódlan's Ten Elite," he explained.

"I wonder who created it," Dimitri pondered thoughtfully.

Edelgard frowned. "And why."

Byleth nodded. "Both good questions. Unfortunately, those answers likely burned with Garreg Mach in the Scorch." She glanced at the Relics, noting the brutally sharp edges that remained even after more than 700 years of not being used. "They would have been something else in their time."

Dimitri looked hard at Areadbhar. "I've been to this museum half a dozen times in my life and yet this is the first time I can truly say that this feels familiar," he said quietly.

"Familiar?" Edelgard pressed, her lips pursing.

"It's like you've seen it before but you can't place when or where," Claude supplied for Dimitri. "Like you have some memory of holding it, but you don't know why."

Byleth glanced at Claude who seemed fixated on Failnaught, the bow. His gaze was analytical and almost the tiniest bit wistful. She looked back at the weapons and considered the strange dreams of the throne and the vivid vision she'd had during the dig.

"I feel the same," Edelgard admitted after a moment.

Byleth looked between the three students and the weapons of the Lords from the Unification Era. "The Guardian of Order was the one who called for their collection together," she explained. Dimitri looked at her, but Edelgard and Claude remained fixated on the Relics. "What is it about them that caused her to call for their collection after her husband died?"

Claude hummed. "You're saying you think the Relics played directly into how the Saviour King died?"

Byleth considered his words. "I don't know," she replied. "If the Relics were truly the weapons of trusted companions and allies of hers, I don't see why she would have had any reason to call for their collection except if they were dangerous."

"There were always legends in my family that it was an attempt at a centralization of power," Edelgard added. Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "But, then again, my family apparently had never been particularly fond of the Church or the former Holy Kingdom of Faerghus."

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Edelgard shrugged. "Apparently I'm descended from some distant former Adrestian nobles."

Her surprise must have shown on her face because Claude laughed. "Come on, Teach, didn't you know? You're standing before the next generation of the old lords," he said teasingly.

Byleth swept her gaze to Dimitri who had taken a sudden interest in his shoes. He felt her gaze and his shoulders tensed imperceptibly. "It's true," he agreed. "I, myself, happen to be able to trace my own lineage back to close relatives of the Saviour King." Dimitri looked back at Areadbhar. He shook his head. "Maybe that's why all of this feels familiar."

Before Byleth could comment further, someone cleared their throat nearby and the four of them turned to see one of the museum curators that had let them into the exhibit early standing a few feet away.

"Miss Eisner, we have the supplies that Dr. Cichol requested ready for you now."

Byleth straightened. "Great, thank you." The curator turned to leave and Byleth followed him. Something in her stomach twisted as she walked past the Guardian's room of the exhibit. She glanced through the doorway towards the ancient sword before shaking her head and continuing after the curator.

The supplies that Seteth had requested mostly included extra tools and marking supplies since the University wasn't well-equipped for a dig of the scale that they were proceeding with. There were five boxes of tools and Byleth immediately sent the three students to work carrying them out to Edelgard's car while she signed off on the transfer with the curator.

As she scrawled her signature on the last line on the clipboard, the curator gave her a warm smile. "The museum is very excited by the work your mentor is doing," he said idly as Dimitri grabbed the last box and headed out the side door again.

Edelgard didn't reappear, apparently having stayed in the car, but Claude reappeared in the doorway and watched the interaction curiously.

Byleth smiled faintly. She had the beginning of a headache pulsing at the back of her head, but she shook it away. "It's exciting to be a part of," she agreed. "History deserves to be preserved."

She was about to walk away when the curator continued: "We're glad you're a part of it too, getting to continue your father's work."

She tensed and turned back to him, biting her tongue so sharply she almost drew blood. "My father?"

Claude stepped more fully into the room, looking deeply intrigued. The curator gave a tight smile. "Your father did quite a bit of security work for our sponsored expeditions. We were sorry to hear of his passing."

Byleth frowned and felt another pang of pain in her head, closer to her temple. "Yeah," she murmured.

"Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Miss Eisner," the curator said as a farewell, turning back to the microscope on the desk in front of him.

Byleth swallowed hard at the clear dismissal and turned to head out to the car. Claude gave her a concerned look that seemed to ask her how she was feeling. Byleth shook her head and brushed past him to the exterior of the museum where Edelgard was parked in the loading bay.

Since it was her car, Edelgard was driving. Dimitri had claimed shotgun, citing his long legs and the need for more space. Claude had complained during the trip to Fhirdiad, but both of his friends had ignored him, relegating him to the backseat with Byleth. Byleth slid into the backseat again, careful of the box of trammels and shovels balanced on the middle seat, and pulled out her phone.

She shot Seteth a text saying that they had the supplies and were about to head out on their return trip. Claude slid in next to her and Byleth ignored the looks exchanged between him, Dimitri, and Edelgard in regards to her sudden mood change. She worried her teeth against her bottom lip as Edelgard started the car and pointedly looked away from Claude. She didn't particularly feel like having Claude dissect her current mental state.

The trio managed to keep an easy conversation for the first hour of the trip out of the city, chatting about the classes they were taking that semester and what their plans were for their first summer as graduates. Byleth listened, but she didn't contribute. Apparently Edelgard and Dimitri were both planning on being in Fhirdiad and looking for work in the capital. Claude, on the other hand, seemed particularly evasive, not committing to either staying in Fódlan or returning to Almyra.

As they finally managed to maneuver out of the Sunday morning traffic in the capital and onto the main road back towards Garreg Mach, Edelgard looked at something in the rearview mirror and frowned.

"What is it?" Byleth asked, noting the troubled look.

Edelgard sighed tightly. "I'm probably imagining things, but I could have sworn I saw that black SUV behind us back at the museum."

Byleth glanced out the rear window and noted the large car that was tailing them. It wasn't particularly close or threatening, but she did note that both the driver and the passenger were wearing dark-coloured baseball caps. She narrowed her eyes. "Weird," she muttered.

Claude had also taken a look out the back window and he scowled. "I recognize the license plate. You're right, Edel."

"Maybe they're just headed in the same direction as us," Dimitri said, but he didn't sound entirely convinced of his own words. "It is a Sunday," he excused.

Nothing more was said on the black SUV as Edelgard focused back on the road, but there was an undeniable blanket of tension that had settled around them. Byleth found herself glancing back every few minutes to check on the vehicle, but it had followed them onto the southbound highway.

It kept a safe distance, so eventually, Byleth conceded that Dimitri had probably been correct in assuming that it was just more people headed back towards the University at the end of the weekend. After another hour had passed, they managed to slip back into a lighter conversation. Claude quizzed Byleth on the dig and Seteth's developing plans for moving out of the main room.

Edelgard poked fun at Dimitri and Claude and Byleth ended up hearing her fair share of stories of the three of them from when they were younger and some of the stupid things they did as kids. Dimitri talked about his childhood friends Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid and Claude explained the first time that he visited Fódlan and some of the shenanigans that had occurred when he had first met his friend Hilda.

The SUV behind them disappeared after about hour four, taking an exit going east instead of continuing south. They stopped for lunch at a rest stop and picked up a few snacks to eat for dinner. Dimitri had offered to drive for the remaining half of the trip, but Edelgard had waved him off, claiming she wanted control of her own car. When they had been stopped, Claude commented that since they had gotten out of the city earlier than expected they would be back before dinner.

Dimitri had brightened up and suggested that they take the lower road which would take them a bit further east before continuing south since it would allow them to skirt the edge of the mountains on a bit of a scenic route. Claude had been indifferent, but Edelgard had seemed interested in the detour, mentioning she had never spent much time in the northeast. Having done some travel with her father years ago, Byleth knew the road Dimitri was talking about and agreed it might be a nice break.

They had set out around one in the afternoon and had driven for a few hours before reaching the lowest parts of the mountains. The views were beautiful and they reminded Byleth of the times she had come camping with her father in these parts. She smiled faintly as the hills rolled by and Claude poked her in the arm.

"You look happy," he said quietly so that Dimitri and Edelgard didn't hear him over the radio and the hum of the engine.

Byleth shrugged. "I did this drive with my father almost ten years ago," she confessed. "It's pretty."

Claude smiled. "Yeah," he agreed. He looked out the back window to admire the view behind them and his expression slackened into surprise.

"Claude?" Byleth prompted. He didn't reply so she turned to look out the back herself. There was a black SUV on the road around 50 metres behind them. She made eye contact with Claude and felt her mouth go dry.

"Edelgard," Claude began calmly, "you should pull over and let this guy pass us."

Edelgard and Dimitri both glanced back and Edelgard went tense immediately. Byleth watched her swallow tensely. "Yeah," she muttered, flicking on her signal light and pulling into the shoulder.

A roar from the road ahead of them caused all four of them to go rigid. Byleth's hands shot to the back of Dimitri's seat as she watched in horror as a second black SUV raced to meet them head-on, driving on the wrong side of the road. Edelgard jerked the wheel sharply to the left, swerving into the wrong lane to avoid the car as she swore loudly. The oncoming SUV screamed past, swerving back into its lane.

Before Edelgard could right the car, Claude let out a cry of alarm as he looked out the back window. "Look out!"

It was too late to react as the SUV behind them had accelerated to smash the back half of Edelgard's car. Byleth's knuckles tightened violently on Dimitri's seat in front of her as the car spun. Edelgard frantically turned the wheel, trying to control the spin of the vehicle, but the SUV rammed them again and she lost control.

The car spun back across the correct lane and into the shoulder before the front of the car on the driver's side clipped the guardrail and the tires squealed out. The rail groaned from the impact as the rest of the car spun violently around the pivot point, colliding with the guardrail. Claude's arm shot out and his hand landed on top of Byleth's on the back of Dimitri's seat as someone in the car screamed. The guardrail gave out this time, sending the car spinning dangerously into the ditch on the side of the road.

There was another heavy screech of the tires on the edge of the pavement and gravel before the box in the middle of the backseat rose from the force of the bump and slammed into Byleth. The impact slammed her head against the window hard enough that she saw stars. The car rolled with a sickening crunch and Byleth's head cracked against the window again and her vision went completely dark.

* * *

It felt like someone was using a jackhammer on the inside of her skull when Byleth forced her eyes open again. Her whole body ached and she blinked heavily. The window next to her had shattered, but at least the vehicle was the right way up. Ignoring the sharp pain in her neck, Byleth assessed the rest of the car.

They had swerved clear off the road and past the barrier, landing in the ditch which had triggered a small rockfall that had landed mostly on the driver's side of the car. Edelgard's airbag had deployed and Byleth's stomach twisted as she noted the other girl was limp against the deployed bag. She turned her gaze to Claude who appeared mostly pinned between the heavy box of excavation supplies and the mangled door of the car from the rocks. He also appeared to be out cold

With shaking hands, she removed her seatbelt and leaned forwards to try and check on Dimitri. From directly behind him, she couldn't see his face, but she let her hands grab at his shoulders. After a brief pause, one of his hands came up to touch her hands. Byleth exhaled in relief.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

Dimitri didn't reply and Byleth's gaze flickered out the broken windshield of the car. There was a faint trail of smoke emitting from the front of the car and she let out a string of curses. She immediately released Dimitri's shoulders and tried to force her door open. She ended up having to swivel in her seat to kick at the door but eventually, she applied enough force to get the door open. It groaned on the hinges and Byleth scrambled out of the car.

She ripped the passenger side door open and her blood ran cold at the vacant look on Dimitri's face. His head was bleeding from a nasty cut at his hairline, but his blue eyes were blankly staring straight at the smoking engine of the car. Byleth swallowed and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him out of the car and back into the moment. Dimitri was dead weight and Byleth cursed again.

She recognized the particular look of despair and dissociative emotion on his face and something in her memory clicked. She had felt the same when she had seen Monica Ochs had been found dead. He was relieving the darkest moment of his life when both of his parents and a close friend of his had died in a brutal car crash in Duscur.

"Dimitri!" she practically yelled. She grabbed his face and turned it towards her. He blinked slowly and she watched him come back to himself partially. She shook her head vigorously. "I'm not strong enough to get them out of the car alone, I need your help."

Dimitri blinked slowly one more time before his expression steeled and he basically snapped his seatbelt in half before crawling out of the wreckage. He was littered with scrapes from the shattered glass and Byleth imagined she looked similar, but they circled the car, trying to find an opening in the fallen rocks where they could free their friends.

Dimitri managed to shove one particularly large rock away in a burst of almost inhuman strength and Byleth was able to squeeze close enough to the car to drag Edelgard's door open. With trembling hands, she felt for a pulse on Edelgard's slim wrist and nearly collapsed in relief when she found it. She looped her arms awkwardly around Edelgard's and pulled her from the crushed driver's side. Edelgard was limp against her and Byleth slowly extricated her from the crushed driver's side.

Just as she was pulling her fully free, she heard a low groan and her gaze snapped to where Claude was coming to in the backseat.

"Teach?" he muttered weakly as he forced his eyes open.

Byleth let out a terrified and breathy laugh as Dimitri squeezed himself through the rocks enough to take Edelgard's weight from Byleth. He carefully maneuvered himself and Edelgard back out of the rocks and Byleth set to work on trying to force Claude's door open. She coughed against the dust and growing smoke from the front of the car. Claude rammed his shoulder against the door as best he could and glass tinkled as it broke further.

"On three," she instructed. "One, two, three," she jerked the door at the same time Claude slammed into it from the inside and they managed to pry it open enough that he could slip out. He buckled onto his hands and knees and gasped in pain, curling his left arm into his chest as soon as he was free.

Byleth practically grabbed him around the middle and hauled him away from the car and they collapsed together a few feet away from the wreckage as more smoke wafted up from the front of it. Strong arms lifted Byleth to her feet and she dragged Claude with her. Dimitri steadied Byleth and guided them both over to the guardrail where he had laid Edelgard's prone form.

Byleth released Claude and started assessing Edelgard. She was alive, thankfully, but soundly knocked out as a result of the force of the impact. She turned back to the boys and saw them both sitting staring at the car in shock. Claude looked winded and in pain and the vacant look had crept back into Dimitri's expression now that the immediate danger of the crushed and smoking vehicle had passed.

Byleth let out a strangled laugh as she watched the smoke from the car grow. It was going to catch fire and they were going to be incredibly glad they had crawled away from it. Claude's head tipped towards her as she laughed incredulously. He gave a breathy chuckle and then winced at the pain it caused.

Byleth fumbled for her phone and dialled the emergency number as adrenaline pumped through her strong enough to ward off her pain.

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 28 Pegasus Moon, 7 AU_

Byleth was taking tea with Petra and Ashe in the courtyard when the news arrived. The couple was newly returned from Brigid and had brought a small contingent of their Blue Sun knight's order to receive Byleth's blessing. Byleth had been honoured that both of her former pupils still valued her opinion so greatly even after over a decade since she had been their teacher. They had spent some time in Fhirdiad first for political negotiations, but they had come by the monastery to see her after the fact.

Shamir was the one who interrupted them, tapping her knuckles against the latticework of the garden to draw their attention. Byleth stood immediately, acknowledging her friend.

"Your Grace, scouts report a party riding for Garreg Mach under the King's banners," Shamir reported.

Byleth was surprised. She was due to return to Fhirdiad in a week and she certainly wasn't expecting a visitor on behalf of her husband before that point. Ashe also looked surprised, but Petra just sipped her tea once before rising to her feet.

"Dimitri is coming, then?" the Brigid Queen asked.

Ashe tilted his head towards Byleth curiously. "I didn't know Dimitri was coming," he murmured.

Byleth pressed her lips together. "Neither did I," she admitted.

Shamir led the three of them towards the market at the front of the monastery to receive the party riding under the banners of the king. As soon as the party broke from the edge of the woods Byleth exhaled in surprise. She recognized the lead rider immediately as the tall frame of her husband. On his right was Felix, and Annette was riding just behind her husband. Dedue was at Dimitri's right and Mercedes was behind them.

Byleth laughed in delight as she hurried down the monastery steps to greet them. The beat of wings above her announced the presence of Ingrid and Sylvain as well as Ashe let out a cheer as he hurried after Byleth. Dimitri barely managed to stop his mount before he was leaping off and lifting Byleth off her feet with a sweeping kiss.

She laughed into it and pulled back, framing his face in her hands as she smiled broadly. "What are you doing here?"

Dedue answered her as the rest of the party dismounted. "We heard Ashe and Petra were coming for a visit and knew that it would be nice to get everyone together while we still could." He tipped his head to Ashe and Petra, who had joined her husband and was smiling.

"Plus, even when these two were in the capital last week, they didn't get to see all of us," Ingrid called out from above as she landed her pegasus beside Annette's horse. Sylvain's wyvern landed next to her and he grinned broadly.

Dimitri kissed Byleth's hair. "And I think everyone needed a break from the parenting craziness as well," he murmured lowly and she smiled.

"I suppose I better get a case of wine for the dining hall tonight, then?" Byleth asked. Though she had been enjoying Petra and Ashe's visit as it was, there was no denying it was wonderful to reunite the original Blue Lions.

"That sounds wonderful," Mercedes said brightly as she took Dedue's arm. She glanced around the market entrance briefly, noting the individuals who had paused to watch the reunion. "Where are Flayn and Seteth?"

Byleth's lips parted blankly as she realized Flayn's departure wasn't commonly known information. Seteth had gone on a brief trip to the Eastern Church, but had been due back that afternoon and was still nowhere to be seen. "I'm not sure," she confessed. "They're supposed to be back by now."

Ashe shook his head. "Don't worry, Your Grace, I'm sure they just got a bit held up. I heard Raphael, Leonie, and Ignatz were around those parts. Maybe they just got caught up with familiar faces."

Byleth nodded, hiding her guilt in a plain smile. "Of course. Anyways," she turned back to the rest of the newly arrived travellers, "I imagine you are all exhausted after that journey. I'm sure we can get some more tea set out for everyone."

Dimitri's hand curled around Byleth's and he squeezed it. "That sounds wonderful, my love," he said.

* * *

It was late in the evening by the time that Byleth finally spotted Seteth's wyvern returning from the east. She excused herself from Annette's vibrant story and the listening former Blue Lions to go and greet him at the stable. She didn't see Flayn's pegasus and a seed of worry planted in her chest.

When she reached the stables, Seteth was removing the saddle from his wyvern in stiff, choppy motions. Flayn was, as she expected, nowhere to be found.

Seteth must have heard her footsteps on the stonework because he called out to her before she even reached him. "She was there."

Byleth's steps faltered, but she shook it off and stepped to the other side of Seteth's wyvern so that she could make eye contact with her friend and advisor. "She was?"

He looked tired and almost years older than he had when he had left for the Eastern Church. He reached into his bag and passed Byleth a folded piece of paper over the back of his wyvern. He turned to lead his mount into its pen, leaving Byleth to read the letter in Flayn's curling handwriting.

"At least she met with you," Byleth murmured as she reached the end of the letter.

Seteth sighed heavily. "I am not surprised anymore. She cares deeply and always has."

Byleth smothered an ill-timed giggle. "I still can't believe I never saw that during their time at the academy."

Seteth smiled faintly, but Byleth detected the sadness in his expression as well. "I have always liked Ignatz, so there could have been much, much worse choices she could have made. She tells me that she'll find me again, and I don't doubt it."

Byleth glanced down at the letter in her hand. "She'll outlive him, won't she?"

Seteth nodded. "Yes."

"Maybe next time she'll be able to call you Father instead of Brother," she offered gently.

Seteth's eyes softened. "Perhaps," he conceded.

"She'll be okay," Byleth assured.

Seteth nodded. "I know." His lips tightened. "There's nothing easy about losing a child, no matter if it's temporary or not."

Byleth's chest tightened and she looked down, blinking fiercely against the sudden sting in her eyes. "No," she agreed faintly. She swallowed and looked back up at her advisor. Seteth's gaze had wandered towards the stables that were notably fuller than when he had left. "The others are here," she said. She held out Flayn's letter to Seteth again. "They'll be sad to have missed her."

Seteth took the letter and looked between the main monastery and Byleth. "Are you alright?" he asked after a moment's pause.

Byleth forced a smile. "Yes," she said. "I'm going to go to the cathedral. I have some prayers to make tonight."

Ever insightful, Seteth's eyes narrowed, but he didn't protest. Byleth turned and immediately headed for the cathedral before he could press her any further. She didn't particularly feel like talking about children, especially since many of the stories her friends were telling back in the dining hall were about their own children.

* * *

Byleth had only been in the cathedral for maybe ten minutes before she heard heavy footsteps enter. She kept her head down as if she was praying and hoped to blend in amongst the few monks that were in the cathedral this late at night. Her attempts were in vain as a warm presence sat next to her on the bench. She tilted her head slightly and saw Dimitri watching her patiently.

Wordlessly, she slid closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder. His hands cradled hers in her lap and he kissed her temple lightly. He waited for her to speak and didn't press her to open up. The silent communication was a wonderful reminder of the good times they had spent together in the 12 years they had known each other and the nearly 7 years they had been a pair.

"I recognized Seteth's pain before he had to explain anything," Dimitri said cautiously.

Byleth let her eyes close and nodded slowly. "I wish I could go with you when you leave."

"You'll be in the capital soon," he assured her, but she knew he understood her sadness.

She stirred against him and shifted so that she could look at his face. One of her hands slipped free from his grip and touched his jaw gently. "What could we have been like with no responsibilities or duties to separate us?" she asked quietly.

Dimitri smiled at the thought. "A pair of inseparable fools in love," he suggested lightly.

Byleth felt herself smile. "I would have loved that," she admitted. "But, we wouldn't have been us without the responsibilities, would we?"

Dimitri turned his face to kiss the palm of her hand. "The nation wouldn't be where it is today either, without you in the church and myself on the throne."

"I don't think I'll ever stop wishing that it went differently," Byleth said quietly. She glided her hand up to brush lightly against the strap of Dimitri's eyepatch. He once might have flinched against the touch, but he just leaned into it.

"Have you been happy?"

She stilled in her gentle exploration and levelled him with a firm look. "Of course I have. Dimitri, I love you," she assured. "I have been so, so happy with you."

He nodded and another smile curled up his lips. "Let's walk," he suggested.

They strode, hand in hand, out the west side of the cathedral into the open air. There were a few monks in dark robes speaking quietly around as they strolled, but they gave the royal pair a wide enough berth that it felt private.

"It's hard to listen to everyone talk about their kids," Byleth confessed.

"Mercedes tried to steer the conversation away," Dimitri pointed out.

Byleth nodded. "She and Felix were trying, but it's hard. They're all parents and Ashe and Petra are newly married. Besides, Mercedes and Dedue are the only ones who know about everything," she reminded.

"We are so lucky to have them," Dimitri agreed.

"Mercedes has been so wonderful that I had hoped Rhea was wrong." She laughed bitterly. "I would have given anything for Rhea to be wrong."

"Beloved," Dimitri said slowly, his gaze heavy as he pulled them to a stop.

Byleth's next phrase caught in her throat as a monk in dark grey robes walked by them. A sense of wrong washed over her so quickly that she went completely tense. _She didn't recognize the robes_, she realized faintly. All of the monks in the cathedral were wearing dark robes that she didn't recognize.

She pulled out of Dimitri's grip and summoned a burst of white magic just in time to catch an incoming dark magic attack and deflect it to the side. The magic scorched against the stone and Byleth scowled fiercely. Dimitri's hand dropped to the sword at his waist and he drew it without further prompting.

One of the stained glass windows above them exploded in a burst of coloured glass and Byleth flinched at the rain of shards around them. Dimitri pulled her along by the arm as they jogged south along the balcony towards the main monastery. Their attackers were sticking to the shadows of the monastery and Byleth was completely tense, holding a condensed Nosferatu in an open palm as she waited for a sign of movement.

Another window shattered and Byleth didn't see the incoming burst of flame until Dimitri practically dragged her out of its path. Her Nosferatu dissipated in her palm. The heat of the flames licked against the stone and her dress, but she hurled a bolt of lightning in the direction it had come from. Behind her, Dimitri cursed as he shook out his non-sword arm. The edge of the flames had caught him.

They fell into step easily, pressing their backs together as they circled, staring into the night's gloom to try and find their attackers. A rolling fog had settled around them, further obscuring their opponents and Byleth knew it was a product of dark magic, just as it had been all those years ago when they had faced Lonato's rebellion.

Dimitri cried out suddenly behind her and Byleth spun, blasting more lightning. There was a wail of pain as she hit her target, but Dimitri had buckled to a knee beside her, his arm crossed over a nasty burn from a dark magic attack. Before Byleth could send another attack out, she felt her limbs seize in incredible pain. The crawling pain seared her limbs in a manner that was horribly familiar. She had felt a weakened version of this pain when sparring with Lysithea years ago, but she had never been on the receiving end of this spell at its full strength.

Byleth stumbled away from Dimitri as she tried to shake away the crawling pain as it sapped her strength. Dimitri cried out roughly as he was blasted with another spell and Byleth screamed. She threw her arms out and the dark magic gripping her was instantly dispelled as she released a wave of pure white magic. Dimitri was crumpled against the stone limp and Byleth's white magic instantly dispelled the fog rolling around them.

She stumbled with a sudden loss of energy and fell to her knees. Her whole body was burning and she felt so intensely nauseous that she collapsed sideways, barely managing to save her head from cracking against the stone. Paralyzed by the gripping pain, she could only watch as a figure crept from the fog towards Dimitri's body. She tried to cry out to him, but a sharp pain erupted in her stomach and she rolled onto her back as her breath was torn from her chest.

A hooded figure stood above her, a curved sword plunged into her side. She couldn't see any features beyond the hood, but she did recognize the Sreng lettering on the blade before it withdrew and she was left to lie limply on the stone. Her head lolled to the side as she watched the figure who had stabbed her join another person looming over Dimitri's prone form.

The curved blade lifted in the air, but before it could come down, the figure snarled in pain, withdrawing from the king. Byleth spotted an arrow in the attacker's arm and she recognized its fletching: it was one of Ashe's. There were shouts nearby and a few more arrows before the two figures looked between Dimitri and Byleth on the ground before they retreated into the fog.

"Dimitri," she whimpered. She tried to claw her way along the ground towards him, but the pain from her injury and her drained energy meant she had barely moved at all by the time Ashe emerged from the fog, his expression set into a firm line.

Ingrid was at his side, wielding Lúin as she was on the alert. Ingrid spotted Dimitri and Byleth and gasped in horror. "Mercedes! Annette!" She collapsed at Dimitri's side to check his vital signs and Ashe ran to Byleth, kneeling over her with terror written across his face.

Byleth heard more footsteps approaching and her eyes drifted closed as the pain continued to wrack her body. _Help was coming._

* * *

_Author's Note: __Mystery. Intrigue. Plot Parallels. Enjoy._

_I'm almost done exams! Fingers crossed for tomorrow's to go well and then I'm in the clear. Maybe another update this week, time-dependent. __I'm so ready for this fic to start picking up on its momentum and I'm already excited for part 8!_


	8. VIII - Complications

VIII - Complications

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 10 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

"How's your neck today, Byleth?" Harriet asked as she entered the lab.

Byleth turned her head experimentally. There was still a twinge of pain when her jaw angled towards her right shoulder, but it was much, much better than it had been directly after the crash.

"It's alright," she replied. She kept her eyes focused on the screen of the computer in front of her, hoping the post-doc would leave her alone if she was clear she didn't want to talk about it. Thankfully, Harriet got the hint and settled down at her own workstation, leaving Byleth alone.

Since the crash, Byleth felt like she was being babied. Flayn called her every night to check up on her and Seteth never left her alone on-site during the dig. He also seemed keen on having one of his other students in the lab whenever Byleth was there as if she was just going to keel over on her own. It was starting to get annoying.

Out of the four people in the car, Byleth felt like she had gotten off the easiest. Edelgard was recovering from a not-so-fun concussion, Claude had fractured his arm in three places, and Dimitri was another story entirely. While he wasn't as physically hurt as the rest of them, the accident had dredged up some horrible psychological trauma for him and he had been basically catatonic for a week, responding only to the gentle prodding of his childhood friends who knew him best.

Edelgard's father had wanted her to return to Fhirdiad where she could be safe and guarded, but she had protested, staying on in all of her classes as well as the dig in the pinnacle of stubbornness. Claude had had his archery season cut short which was definitely annoying, but he still managed to keep his head up and help out on site, despite lacking the use of his left arm.

The crash had been the subject of several tabloid stories for about a week before Edelgard's father finally managed to get it snuffed out. It had been strange to get sympathetic glances wherever she went and to hear the murmured whispers behind her back. It still happened occasionally, but it helped that Edelgard, Claude, and even Dimitri were good at ignoring rumours and pretending that nothing had happened.

Claude had been spending a lot of time in the lab with Byleth when he wasn't in class. He claimed it was because he needed to feel useful to the team somehow since he thought his arm was impeding the dig. Byleth never protested his company. He never pushed her to talk about the crash or its lead up, instead chattering about history and whatever artifacts they were working with. It was both a pleasant distraction and a welcome motivator.

The door to the lab swung open and Byleth glanced up. Seteth strode in, looking more stressed than she'd seen him in a long time, not counting the look of despair he'd worn when he'd visited her at the hospital. Byleth straightened in her seat as Seteth hung his jacket by the door.

"Seteth?" she inquired to her advisor.

Seteth turned towards her when she spoke and Byleth caught the hint of guilt that rapidly spread across his face as he did so. Byleth frowned and pushed her chair back.

"What is it?" she demanded.

Seteth glanced at Harriet who was working away at her own computer with headphones in and he walked towards Byleth, sinking into the seat next to her. "I received some news today," he admitted.

He passed her a folder that he had been holding and Byleth flipped to the first page in it. It was a letter from the Fhirdiad Museum. She scanned it and felt her features twist into a scowl as she processed the words on the page.

"Cancel the dig? They want you to call it all off? Because of a car accident?"

Seteth sighed and took the folder back from her. "Byleth, you were run off the road. That's not just a car accident. You happened to be with three of the most famous youths in the country at the time while on an equipment retrieval trip for a sponsored dig. That's not good press."

Byleth huffed. "And we're all fine and still ready to work on the dig. They can't just cancel it! You've been working towards this for so long. We've only barely started the work we wanted to do. We just got structural approval for the eastern chambers and we're only now passing where Dr. Charon got to. If we don't do this now, there's no telling when the next time someone will be allowed to excavate down there."

Seteth's expression flashed with guilt again. "I was the one who proposed cancelling the dig," he admitted quietly. "There is no history or discovery that is worth the lives of students."

Byleth's hands slammed against the desk and she shot to her feet. Harriet looked over at the disturbance. "You don't even know that that was what any of this was about," she hissed. "You can't throw this away just because of one thing, Seteth."

Seteth looked tired, but he didn't argue with her. Byleth frowned and stepped away from her desk. She grabbed her purse and jacket from by the door and gave him one last hurt look.

"I'm going for lunch," she said shortly.

She made it almost out of the building when her phone started buzzing in her pocket. She huffed and fished it out, expecting to see Seteth's caller ID. It wasn't him calling so Byleth answered and pressed the phone against her face.

"Claude?"

"_Teach! Exciting news! We've finally gotten everything organized for Friday so we can start inviting people now,_" he said cheerfully through the phone.

Byleth laughed faintly. "Inviting people?"

"_It's Ignatz's birthday on Friday and we're having a surprise party for him. Consider this an official invite._"

"A birthday party? Claude, I don't know," she began, but he cut her off.

"_Don't worry about not knowing people. It's Ignatz, so we're keeping it relatively small. The whole undergrad dig team is getting invited, plus the archery team, plus our roommates so you'll probably know almost everyone that's there._"

She huffed a laugh. "When and where?"

She could practically hear the smile on his face through the phone. "_Friday at 9 at our place. I'll text you the address_."

"I haven't said yes yet," she pointed out.

Claude chuckled. "_You asked when. For you, Teach, that's a yes._"

* * *

_Golden Deer House, University Suburbs - 14 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

Byleth knocked on the door with the backs of her knuckles. Her toe tapped against the stone of the doorstep as she took in the house again. It was a beautiful place: something much more extravagant than she had expected for a bunch of students. She had almost wondered if Claude had given her the wrong address until she saw the wire cutout of a deer stuck into the garden and she had chuckled to herself.

After a moment, the door swung inward and Byleth was met with a grinning Hilda. She blinked in surprise at the sight of another of her former students. Hilda's hair was pulled up and she was wearing a flashy silver top and a cute skirt. Hilda stepped backwards and gestured for Byleth to come inside.

"Uh, thanks," she mumbled. "And hi, Hilda, I didn't know you'd be here."

Hilda snorted a laugh as Byleth stepped inside and slid off her boots. "Wow Claude really didn't explain anything, did he? I live here. This whole place is a bunch of Golden Deer in our year. We've been living together since our second year."

"So, it's you, Claude, Ignatz, and," she trailed off, waiting for Hilda to continue the list.

"Lorenz, Marianne, Lysithea, Raphael, and Leonie. You know Lorenz and Lysithea, obviously. Marianne is my best friend and Raph and Ignatz are from the same small town. Leonie's from eastern Fódlan. Most of us are in fourth year, but little Lysithea is in her third year and Leonie's doing five years because of her job," Hilda explained, tapping her fingers as she counted out her roommates.

Byleth furrowed her brow. "Wait, Leonie Plinecky?"

Hilda blinked, her pink eyes widening a bit as Byleth caught her off guard. "Yeah. Do you know her?"

Byleth laughed to herself. "Yeah, she used to take self-defence from my dad," she explained.

Hilda shrugged. "Huh, small world I guess. Now, come on. Ignatz is already here and we did indeed scare the shit out of him with this party. You've got to say hello."

Hilda linked her elbow with Byleth's and dragged her through the living room towards what Byleth assumed to be the kitchen. She recognized a few of the faces in the living room that were drinking and playing games from around campus, the time she went to one of Claude's archery competitions or people Claude had exchanged words with when they had been together on various occasions.

In the kitchen, Byleth recognized more people. There was Ignatz, Lorenz, Annette, Ingrid, Lysithea, Dimitri, one of Dimitri and Ingrid's other friends with dark hair who she thought was named Felix, a boy she recognized from the archery team, plus a few others, and of course, Claude. Lorenz spotted them first and wandered over. Hilda dropped Byleth's arm and planted a light kiss on Lorenz's lips. Byleth blinked in surprise, but her attention was quickly drawn to Claude who had beelined to her side.

"Teach! You're late," he teased.

Byleth rolled her eyes. "You said 9, it's only 10."

"Hello Byleth," Ignatz said brightly. He was wearing a crooked birthday hat and Byleth laughed at both it and the blush on his cheeks.

"Happy birthday," she replied.

"Ignatz! I got it working!" the hulking young man next to Ignatz said, practically shoving his phone in the smaller boy's face.

Ignatz's smile grew and he took the phone. "Maya!" he greeted. Instantly some of the people in the kitchen giggled and started filing out of the room.

Byleth glanced at Claude curiously. He pressed a cup full of some sweet, alcoholic-smelling beverage into her hand and steered her back into the living room.

"That's Raphael," Claude said. "Ignatz is dating his little sister Maya, so that's who's on the phone there. They do long distance, but Ignatz is very sweet and loyal as I'm sure you could guess."

Byleth smiled. "That's sweet." Her eyes wandered the party until they landed on Hilda again who was tucked against Lorenz's side this time. She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that was a thing," she said quietly to Claude.

He followed her gaze and laughed. "Oh man, that's a heck of a story. They've been together for almost three years now though, so I guess it's working."

Byleth was about to press him for details when she felt a tug on the arm that Claude wasn't occupying. She turned, so that she didn't spill her drink, and found herself face to face with a grinning, pink-cheeked Annette.

"Hi, Byleth! I didn't know you were coming!" Annette said cheerfully.

Byleth smiled at her former student. "Yeah, it was kind of last minute, but I'm glad to be here." She sipped her drink and was momentarily impressed by the strength. Most university parties supplied watered-down drinks, but this was something pretty heavy-hitting.

"Claude, I bet that's your doing," said the young man standing next to Annette. He had slightly curly silver-coloured hair and bright green eyes. He was holding Annette's hand and Byleth knew she recognized him from the archery team.

Claude winked. "You bet, Ashe," he said.

"Claude!" a loud voice called suddenly, causing all four of them to turn towards the table where cups were lined up to play pong. "Just because you have a bum arm, don't think you're getting out of this!"

Byleth gave Claude a side-look. "Is that Leonie?"

He laughed. "Yeah. We make a decent pong pair and even the bad arm," he shifted the arm that was still in the sling, "apparently doesn't get me out of that."

Byleth took another long drink and looked back at Annette and Ashe. "I'm good here. Go play."

Claude grinned at her and Byleth felt her stomach warm. She turned back to Annette and Ashe and took another sip of her drink.

"I'm Byleth, by the way. I think we met very briefly once."

Ashe nodded. "Yeah, I think you came to an archery comp. You were the Archaeology TA, right?"

Annette nodded. "Yup! And she works with us on the excavation process."

Ashe brightened. "Oh yeah! That whole thing is so cool."

A girl with a long dark purple braid suddenly popped out of the crowd and grinned at them. "Annette, may I be borrowing your boyfriend? Claude challenged my pride and I intend to be showing him his place."

Annette laughed and nudged Ashe. "Of course, Petra. I'll come and watch too!"

Ashe and Petra immediately headed for where Claude had vanished off to. Annette lingered for a moment longer, glancing between Byleth and the table. "You should come watch," she suggested lightly.

Before Byleth could reply, Hilda had reappeared at her side, linking arms with her again. "I've got her from here, Annie. Go watch Ashe and Petra destroy Claude and Leonie again."

Annette grinned and vanished into the group of people. Hilda peered into Byleth's almost empty cup and immediately steered her back towards the kitchen to get a refill. She filled Byleth's cup and grabbed one of her own, waving at Ignatz and Raphael who were sitting in the corner still talking over Skype to Raph's sister. Hilda then dragged her out the opposite side of the kitchen into what was probably supposed to be a dining room. Ingrid, Dimitri, their friend, and a girl with faint, silvery-blue hair were sitting on the far side of the room, chatting, but they didn't seem to pay Hilda and Byleth any mind.

"So, you and Claude are pretty tight, aren't you?" Hilda said, turning back to her.

Byleth took a sip of her drink. "We're friends," she said. "He pestered me a bunch last semester until we started meeting up to discuss my research. Most of what we talk about is history related anyways," she deflected.

Hilda rolled her eyes. "Look, I've hooked up with Claude. I know what infatuated Claude looks like."

Byleth didn't know what was more surprising to her: the fact that Hilda and Claude had hooked up or the fact that Hilda thought Claude liked her. Hilda noted the surprise on Byleth's expression and laughed.

"Oh come on, you haven't heard that story? In first year, Claude and I were flirting it up when we both met Lorenz. Lorenz and I also hit it off. Claude and Lorenz naturally hated each other, but once they found out I was kind of seeing both of them they united into hating me for all of like two weeks until Claude got his head out of his ass and Lorenz and I had a chat. I'm kind of the whole reason this house exists since Lorenz and Claude hated each other before they both united against me."

Byleth laughed shortly unintentionally. "Wow, not sure that's something to be proud of."

Hilda shrugged, smirking. "Claude's my best friend and Lorenz and I have been steady for a couple of years. I think it worked out okay."

Byleth giggled lightly. "Sure, sure." Her gaze wandered to the other side of the room where there were the other four. "I know Ingrid and Dimitri, obviously, but who are the others?"

Hilda followed her gaze. "That's Felix, Ingrid's boyfriend, and Marianne, my best friend and totally not Dimitri's girlfriend." She said the last part sarcastically and Byleth smiled faintly.

Marianne was very pretty and Dimitri kept casting her quiet, affectionate looks. They certainly looked like a couple. Felix and Ingrid, on the other hand, were much less lovey-dovey looking, but they certainly looked comfortable with each other.

"Drama with that is that Ingrid was dating Felix's brother Glenn when he died. Ingrid and Felix got together a couple of months ago after a lot of dancing around," Hilda continued.

The story clicked in Byleth's head. She lowered her voice to an almost whisper. "Glenn died in the same crash that killed Dimitri's parents, right?"

Hilda nodded. "Yeah," her smile dropped a bit, "it's pretty sad." She shook her head and turned her full attention back to Byleth. "But, I'm here to bother you about Claude! What's really going on with you guys?"

Byleth shook her head. "Nothing, Hilda, I swear. We're friends." A spark of pain flared behind her eyes and Byleth grit her teeth. Her headaches had been more frequent and much worse since the crash and she had been hoping to get through the night without any more of them.

She downed the rest of her drink and felt the alcohol sting her throat as she swallowed. Hilda finally seemed to take the hint that there was nothing more to talk about and shrugged. She bid Byleth a farewell and darted back to the rest of the party to play hostess. Byleth cast Ingrid and Dimitri's group a glance and felt another headache rip through her mind.

She shook her head and slid out the side door of the dining room into the main hallway. Annette and Ashe had apparently migrated there and were chatting with Linhardt and a boy Byleth faintly recalled to be Linhardt's boyfriend. Pain pulsed in her skull again and she winced faintly. She needed to get somewhere quiet. She quickly slipped past the group and found a flight of stairs leading up. There appeared to be a glorious absence of loud music and chatter from upstairs so she headed up, massaging her temples as she went.

She closed her eyes briefly at the top of the stairs and almost keeled over as another sudden sharp pain flared behind her eyes. She saw white for a moment and something that she could have sworn was Annette and Ingrid's boyfriend Felix. Byleth staggered into the nearest room which happened to be the bathroom and sunk onto the floor. She leant against the cool bathtub and rubbed her temples.

A few more images flashed in her brain: Ashe and Petra wearing strange clothes, Lorenz and Marianne sharing tea, Ingrid riding horseback with a man who looked like her other friend Sylvain, and Dimitri extending a hand to Byleth with a soft smile on his face. She exhaled heavily and rubbed at her head, trying to get the images to fade.

"Byleth?" a voice called softly. She snapped her head up and saw Claude standing in the doorway of the bathroom, looking concerned. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, sealing out most of the noise from the party. "Are you alright?"

She smiled faintly as her headache pulsed again, but more weakly. "Just a headache. I needed a breather."

Claude drifted towards her and sat next to her, leaning his back against the tub as well. "I get that," he admitted. "Linhardt said he saw you heading up here and I figured I'd come to check in."

Byleth nodded. "Ah," she agreed faintly. The headache faded more until she was almost feeling like herself again, just definitely drunker than she normally was. "Did you and Leonie win?"

Claude snorted. "Nope. Ashe and Petra murdered us. Leonie mentioned that you guys know each other though."

Byleth smiled faintly and nodded. "Yeah, she knew my dad pretty well."

Claude winced. "Sorry."

Byleth shrugged. "It happens," she mumbled in reply.

"Are you really okay though? You kind of looked like you were in pain."

She shifted so that their shoulders were pressing against each other. "Headaches," she explained. "At first it was just the usual stuff I've been getting since the crash, but," she trailed off, not sure if she should mention the roiling feeling of _wrong_ that had settled in her stomach since she'd first arrived at the party.

Claude twisted so that they were making eye contact, but their shoulders remained a point of contact. "But?" he prompted softly.

She sighed. She had trusted him with many of her strange dreams and feelings in the last eight months so she didn't see a reason to hide anything else from him. "I feel like everything is wrong. Everyone is talking to the wrong people. Everyone is acting strangely."

"The wrong people?"

"Annette and Felix, Ingrid and Sylvain, Lysithea and Linhardt, Lorenz and Marianne, Ashe and Petra," she listed off-handedly. "That feels right. Not, whatever is actually happening."

Claude's brows furrowed. "Strange," he mumbled. "Do you think this has anything to do with the dreams?"

Byleth dropped her gaze down and shrugged. "I have no idea," she confessed. Her head was starting to feel foggier and less painful. Claude's solid presence next to her felt comfortable.

She looked up and was almost taken aback by the startling green of his eyes. They had made eye contact dozens and dozens of times since they'd met, but he'd never induced the strange warmth in her stomach that she was feeling right then. She exhaled shallowly and studied his face.

Claude's breathing echoed hers as his eyes flicked over her face noticeably. She could smell a hint of alcohol on his breath and she knew that she herself was fairly tipsy, but she couldn't remove herself from the moment.

"Is this wrong too?" he asked quietly. Something unreadable and serious flashed in his eyes and Byleth's chest contracted a bit.

"Yes," she confessed just as softly.

"You're impossible to read sometimes," he said. "But," he inhaled slowly and Byleth watched his gaze noticeably dart to her lips, "I still think I'm crazy about you."

She leaned forward and kissed him.

His lips were warm and softer than she was expecting and he reciprocated the kiss immediately. It wasn't the best angle with them still awkwardly shoulder to shoulder and with their backs against the bathtub, but the kiss made something simmer warmly in her stomach. His shoulder shifted and his right hand, the uninjured one, came up and cupped her face as he pulled back to breathe before kissing her again.

Byleth felt a twinge of stiffness in her neck and a tightness in her chest due to the lack of air, so she leaned back, gasping. Looking into Claude's heavy, green-eyed gaze, the words he'd spoken to her sunk in and Byleth's whole being twisted viciously with a sense of _wrong_. She jerked back away from his touch, her neck protesting the movement. Her palms thudded against the bathroom tile to catch her weight before she tipped to the ground.

Claude looked startled. "By," he started gently.

Byleth's breathing sped up. It was shallow and fast and the room suddenly felt too warm. "I have to go," she said suddenly.

Hurt flashed across Claude's expression as she scrambled to her feet, ignoring her alcohol-induced wobbliness and the headache that had sprung back to the front of her mind. He looked like he was about to protest again so she bolted.

* * *

_Infirmary, Garreg Mach Monastery_ _\- 2 Lone Moon, 7 AU_

Byleth came to feeling like she had been trampled by a pegasus. Her body was aching and there was a sharper, razor-like throb from the side of her ribs. She blinked and saw a faint glimmer of candlelight nearby. There was a blurry figure sitting next to her, dabbing a cool cloth on her forehead. The cloth jerked back as Byleth blinked again and she heard a familiar gasp.

"Professor!" the familiar voice exclaimed and Byleth's vision cleared enough that she saw Annette sitting next to her, looking incredibly relieved.

Byleth's throat felt dry and sore when she tried to speak. Her words came out breathy and almost as a whisper. "What happened?"

For a second, her mind was blank, but when Annette's features twisted into deeper concern, the memories came rushing back. Byleth jolted and immediately tried to sit up, ignoring the lingering pain in her side.

"Dimitri!" she exclaimed.

"Please, Professor!" Annette said sternly, gently pressing her back into the mattress. "You were very hurt. You need to stay down."

Byleth listened, settling back against the mattress, but a cold fear spread to her limbs. "Where is Dimitri?" she asked again.

Annette sighed slowly. "He's going to be alright. Don't worry."

The cold panic and fear drained away slowly and she tilted her head a bit, checking out the rest of the room. There was no one else in the infirmary besides the two of them, but one of the other beds looked like it had had some recent use.

"Where is he?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"I believe he's with Sylvain, Ashe, Dedue, and Felix," Annette answered. She furrowed her brows at Byleth. "You were both hit with powerful dark magic spells, Professor, but I think the fact that he wasn't also stabbed helped with that."

Annette fetched Byleth some water and sent a monk to fetch Mercedes while she answered more of Byleth's questions. She had been unconscious for almost two full days. Dimitri had woken up in the afternoon yesterday. They hadn't caught any of the people who had attacked them. No one else was hurt or targeted in the attack. The perpetrators hadn't left much of a trace besides the magic traces on Byleth and Dimitri after they'd been knocked down.

Byleth recalled the blade suddenly. "I need to talk to Sylvain," she said breathlessly.

"You're not going anywhere until I check you over, Professor," Mercedes called from the entrance to the infirmary. "That magic did a number on both you and Dimitri, but I've never seen anyone react to it quite like you did, Professor."

Byleth frowned. "Annette, please fetch my husband and the others. Especially Sylvain. It's important."

Annette nodded and Mercedes took her place, asking Byleth a million questions about how she was feeling and if she was in any pain. After another Heal spell and a few more swallowed herbs, Mercedes checked the sword wound. It was almost completely healed, but the healer let out a startled gasp that had Byleth twisting her shirt up further to try and see what Mercedes had seen.

She had basically removed it when she saw it: a burn scar kind of in the shape of a star right over her heart. The skin was tender, but the burn appeared to have healed itself and Byleth recalled the intensity of the wave of white magic she had released to repel their attackers.

"What is that?" she asked quietly.

Mercedes shook her head, looking puzzled. "It looks like a white magic burn. Dimitri didn't mention they used white magic too."

Byleth exhaled slowly. She knew where the burn had come from, but how was she supposed to tell her dear friend that it had been self-inflicted by the power sizzling in her veins that was eating her alive. Before anything else could be said, there was a sharp rap at the door and Byleth yanked her shirt down, making herself decent.

"Come in," she called before Mercedes could ask for a bit more time.

Dimitri burst into the room and hightailed it to her side. He basically fell to his knees next to her and Byleth saw the hurt and pain and love in his gaze as he reached up to touch her face. "You're alright," he breathed.

"You're okay too," she replied, lifting one of her own hands to cup his jaw.

Their moment was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of their friends and Dimitri quickly stood and pulled up a chair next to Byleth's bed. He and Mercedes helped her sit up so that she could face all of her friends. The entire group of her former students were present, minus Felix and Ingrid.

"Sylvain," Byleth started, focussing on the northern Faerghus noble. "Has Sreng ever struck this far south?"

He seemed alarmed at her question and shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "They press at the border, but I've never heard of them striking at the heart of Fódlan."

Byleth exhaled warily. "How has the border been?"

He frowned. "Chaotic. They come and go, but I had believed we were reaching an agreement recently since I took over for my father."

"The blade had Sreng lettering," Byleth confessed.

Annette's breath hitched. "What?" she squeaked.

Dimitri looked troubled at the news. "It did?"

Byleth closed her eyes, conjuring the memory of it. She was quite sure. "It did."

Sylvain ran a hand through his hair, looking distressed. "The Sreng people are warriors. They do a lot of weapons trading. Perhaps this was an attempt to frame them."

Dedue folded his arms and looked down, something dark crossing his expression. "This information mustn't leave this room. There will be slaughters if it gets out."

"Yes," Seteth agreed as he strode into the room. He dipped his head to both Byleth and Dimitri in respect. "It is good to see you are recovering Your Grace, Your Majesty. I agree with Dedue here that we must not let the word of a potential attack from Sreng get out. In fact, I would recommend we try to limit the spread of the attack entirely. It would not do well to know that someone got close enough to render both of you unconscious."

Ashe nodded. "I asked Petra and our guards to return to Brigid without me. If the information does get out, I would like her not to be here. Foreign powers interfering at a time like this would be bad." He looked guilty for a moment and Byleth knew it was the guilt of leaving his wife so soon after they had been wed as equals in Brigid. "I hope my skills are still welcomed here," he added quietly.

Byleth nodded. "Ashe, you are always welcome. I agree with Seteth, though." She looked around the room at her trusted friends. "News of the attack does not leave this room," she said sternly.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 9 Lone Moon, 7 AU_

Byleth was in the market when she heard the crowing of a wyvern. She snapped her head up and spotted the white beast descending towards the stable, followed by a brown wyvern. Her lips parted in surprise. She knew that wyvern and she had no idea what it was doing here. She smiled politely to the vendor she had been speaking with and excused herself, making quickly towards the stables.

Claude was assisting his two companions down off of the second mount by the time she had arrived. Byleth's steps faltered and she stared at the Almyran King for a long time. Claude helped Lysithea down and said something quietly to the third new arrival, Linhardt, before he turned and finally noticed her. He grinned.

"Hello, Your Grace," he said lightly. There was a familiar teasing lilt to his voice and Byleth could only stare dumbly at him.

"What are you doing here, Claude?" she demanded after a moment.

His grin twisted into a sly smirk. "I figured you could use a dark magic specialist and someone who has some ideas who might be interesting to you," he offered, gesturing to Lysithea and then Linhardt.

Lysithea brushed off her skirt and sent Claude a dirty look. "He's being evasive, as always, but he did bring us some interesting news."

Byleth furrowed her brow and stared at Claude again. "How did you know?"

He shrugged. "I'm good at knowing things."

Byleth scowled at him. "This information wasn't supposed to leave the monastery grounds," she said firmly.

Claude winked. "Good thing we're on the grounds then." Byleth scowled, but he continued before she could interrupt him. "Gather your group. This information is probably more than you're expecting."

* * *

They met in Byleth's study. Dedue, Mercedes, Ashe, Dimitri, Claude, Lysithea, Seteth, and Linhardt stood and sat around the room each wearing an expression of varied discomfort and concern. Sylvain, Felix, and Annette had had to return home for their children's sakes and Sylvain was also looking into the Sreng lead.

Byleth turned the paper in her hands over. It bore Hubert's writing and detailed the activities of the dark group that had assisted in the Empire during the Unification War. Linhardt had presented it to her along with a few more just like it that he had recovered from the Vestra estate after the war. Apparently he had been doing his own research from Ordelia territory where he had settled with Lysithea after the two of them successfully had Lysithea's Crests removed and dissolved her noble house.

Claude, of course, had gotten wind of their work and the attack at Garreg Mach and had apparently drawn a thread connecting the two. He had brought them to the monastery to discuss their research and Lysithea's past experience with them. She shared her horrible childhood trauma where she had had her second Crest implanted and Dimitri's breath caught when she had described the fading of her hair's pigment and the weakness the second Crest had imposed upon her.

The group, dubbed Those Who Slither in the Dark, according to Hubert's notes, were apparently vehemently against the children of the goddess and had fantastical weaponry and dark magic mages, including Cornelia and Solon. Dedue and Dimitri had both stiffened when Byleth had read about Cornelia and her involvement in what Hubert described as the orchestrated Tragedy of Duscur.

Byleth placed the last letter down on her desk and frowned. "Claude, you're saying these people are the ones who attacked Dimitri and I?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but it certainly seems more likely than a Sreng invasion and assault to me. If I had to guess, I would say their target was just you, Byleth, and that Dimitri was meant more as a personal attack. If you give Linhardt and me more time, we could probably work with Hubert's notes more and figure out where they're hiding. Then we can remove them and remove the threat entirely."

"No," Seteth cut in sharply. His face was pale and Byleth bit her lip as she studied her advisor. "Doing so will only create bigger targets on both His Majesty and Her Grace. If you pursue this, they could only come after you harder and if you're wrong, then you are chasing empty threads into the wind and letting the true culprits get away."

Lysithea scowled. "We're not wrong. The Hades spell that struck Byleth and Dimitri was strong enough to take them both down. I know that spell," she asserted. "I have met very few people who could cast it at that strength. We're not wrong."

"Even so," Dedue said, "I agree with Seteth. We can look into it, but His Majesty and Her Grace should not be leading any charges. It endangers them too much."

Dedue's compromise settled the animosity in the room, but Byleth felt frustrated. She was tired of being protected. These attackers had tried to kill both her and her husband in their home. She wanted to remove them personally. Dimitri looked conflicted and Byleth instantly understood. He felt the same way she did, but he obviously did not want to put her in any more danger, just like how she wanted to keep him from further danger. Claude had said the target was likely just her, so she wanted to protect Dimitri as much as she wanted.

She took a deep breath. "I give you permission to look into this further," she conceded. "But, no one will be taking any offensive action until we reassess."

Dimitri frowned at her, but he didn't argue. Dedue and Seteth looked placated and Mercedes and Ashe nodded in agreement as well. Linhardt gave her a cryptic look but didn't argue. Lysithea huffed and narrowed her eyes. Claude simply studied her, his expression unreadable. Byleth inclined her chin and refused to show her hand.

"Now, I believe this discussion has concluded. We should all go for dinner." She smiled at Lysithea and Linhardt. "We have friends visiting, after all."

Her companions accepted her suggestion and began making their way out of the room. Claude and Dimitri lingered until it was only the three of them left. Dimitri looked between her and Claude twice, but the Almyran King didn't even flinch.

"My love," Byleth said gently, "I would like to speak with Claude briefly about handling private matters of state. We'll join you in a few minutes."

Dimitri looked only partially convinced, but he kissed Byleth gently on the lips and made his way out of the room, leaving her alone with Claude. Claude raised an eyebrow at the door as it shut behind Dimitri.

"Private matters?" he inquired.

Byleth took a deep breath and folded her hands atop the desk. "We're going to finish this," she said firmly. "We stamp them out and remove the threat as soon as you figure out where they would be."

Claude's eyes narrowed. "You didn't send everyone away to tell me you're going against the direct council of your closest companions."

"No," Byleth agreed. "I sent everyone away to tell you we're going to do this without Dimitri."

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Finally some Claudeleth in the Present and more plot in the Past! I've been working on a bunch of stuff for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I run so I hadn't really been working on this fic like I had wanted to be. Still, probably 1-2 weeks until next update again._

_Hope everyone is safe and well!_


	9. IX - When the World Comes Down

IX - When the World Comes Down

* * *

_Old Monastery, Garreg Mach University - 16 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

It had been two days since Ignatz's birthday and Byleth felt like she was waiting for a bomb to go off. The entire undergraduate team had arrived, hungover (minus Edelgard), to the dig site on Saturday and had gone straight to work. Byleth had waited for things to be weird between her and Claude, but despite everything, he treated her like he always had, as a friend.

On one hand, it was reassuring because she liked being friends with him, but on the other, it felt a tiny bit insulting. Did he not remember what had happened between them? Did he not care?

After she almost stabbed herself with a pick, Byleth decided to ignore those thoughts and focus on the task at hand: examining the statue at the entrance to the first of the eastern chambers they had just been approved to enter. So far, none of the undergrads had been allowed to work in the new room as Seteth, James, Harriet, and a few of the researchers on loan from the museum had just begun working there. Byleth had been assigned to continue her work in the main chamber and to supervise the undergrads. It both felt like babysitting and a cop-out since she was still recovering from the crash.

There was a commotion at the entrance to the dig site and Byleth glanced over, seeing a tall man speaking urgently with the security guard at the entrance. She stood up from her crouch and stepped towards them. Before she could call out to both the visitor and the security officer, Edelgard beat her to the punch.

"Hubert?" she questioned. Edelgard had been signing out equipment at the main table and she quickly made her way towards the stranger.

Byleth headed over, brushing dust off her hands. "Is everything alright?" she asked as she arrived.

Edelgard and Hubert had exchanged a few tense words and Edelgard's expression had turned ashen. She shook her head and placed the clipboard she was holding down on the nearest table. "I have to go," she mumbled.

Byleth watched as Edelgard brushed past Hubert and headed for the exit of the dig without another word. Byleth narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze to Hubert. "What's happened?"

Hubert's lips pressed into a thin line. "Check the news," he suggested in a low, tense tone before he pivoted and followed Edelgard offsite.

Byleth frowned and glanced at the security guard who just shrugged. She sighed and peeled off one of her gloves, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She pulled up a new tab and entered 'news' in the search bar. The first result that came back made her feel so sick she almost keeled over.

"Oh god," she breathed. A cold chill settled over her bones and she heard a dim ringing in her ears.

The security guard looked concerned. "Are you alright? You're really pale," he commented.

Byleth didn't respond, turning instead towards the main room. "Seteth!" she yelled.

There was a rustle of movement and a lot of confused looks from the people around her. Byleth exhaled shakily and started walking towards the eastern room where she knew her advisor was working. She made it almost all the way to the room before he appeared, looking concerned.

"Byleth!" he exclaimed, "what's wrong?"

Byleth's hand shook as she turned her phone towards Seteth and she watched the blood drain out of his face.

"Oh Sothis," he murmured tensely.

He pulled a whistle out of his pocket and blew into it twice. The shrill noise echoed through the ruins, but its signal was clear. It was the evacuation signal for the team. People instantly began moving for the exit, obeying, but there were numerous worried and confused glances shot in their direction.

Seteth caught her arm before she could walk away. "I have to call Flayn," he said. "Can you tell everyone to go home and call their families? I'll send an update out later."

Byleth swallowed. "I guess this doesn't help my case to keep the dig open," she mumbled.

Seteth frowned. "We'd be lucky to come down here again," he admitted.

Byleth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Call Flayn," she instructed. "I'll handle this."

She pulled away from Seteth and headed towards the exit with everyone else. Dimitri and Claude were lingering at the entrance, waiting for her and they both looked troubled.

"Teach, what's happening?" Claude asked.

Dimitri nodded. "Why was Hubert here and why did Edelgard leave so suddenly?"

Byleth took a sharp breath in. "Someone set off a bomb in the parliament building this morning. Prime Minister Von Hosch is dead as are seven cabinet ministers."

Claude hissed through his teeth as he swore. "How could this happen?"

Byleth gave him a tense look. "Same way the children of three political figures get run off the road, I guess," she muttered.

Without another word, she brushed past them to where the rest of the staff were waiting, anxiously staring at the dig site. Byleth curled her hands into fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms as she took a deep breath.

"Activities are suspended for the day. I don't want to get too much into it, but everyone should check the news and contact their families accordingly. Dr. Cichol will be in touch about our next steps here, but for now, everyone please head home," Byleth called to the group, trying to keep her nervousness out of her tone.

Most of the adults dispersed immediately, but the undergrads lingered. Ignatz, Lysithea, and Linhardt were speaking in hushed tones and Ingrid and Annette were studying something on Annette's phone. Byleth spotted the exact moment where Ingrid processed the news because her face went completely white.

She pivoted towards Linhardt and grabbed his arm and Byleth instantly headed towards them. Ingrid was already speaking by the time she caught up and Byleth caught the dread that washed over Linhardt's face.

"There's nothing about your dad, but Caspar's dad was reported as seriously injured," Ingrid said.

Linhardt nodded faintly. "I'm going to call him. I hope your dad is okay too," he mumbled, digging for his own phone to call his boyfriend.

Linhardt strode away for privacy and Ingrid immediately beelined to where Dimitri and Claude were standing, both of them still partially stunned by the news. Byleth turned to Ignatz and Lysithea.

"Linhardt's father?" she questioned quietly.

Lysithea nodded. "He's the Minister of Domestic Affairs. Ingrid's father is the Minister of Agriculture."

"Oh no," Byleth breathed.

Ignatz shook his head, looking sad. "A bunch of people we know have family in Parliament," he added. "I can't even imagine what Edelgard's feeling."

Byleth glanced over to where Dimitri was holding Ingrid by the arms as they spoke urgently. Dimitri shook his head at something and Ingrid frowned. Claude shifted his weight as he looked between the two childhood friends and he cast Byleth a concerned look. She pressed her lips together and made her way towards them.

"I already texted Sylvain," Dimitri was saying as she arrived. "His father called him an hour ago from the hospital. Sylvain is bringing Felix here and we'll all head over together."

"Fe will go insane sitting in a car with all of us the whole time," Ingrid argued. "You know he will."

Dimitri sighed. "I know. Maybe you guys should just go to the city without me then."

Claude grabbed Byleth's arm and pulled her away from the conversation. She twisted in his grip, not breaking free, just trying to loosen his grasp. He guided her a couple feet away and surveyed the situation. Ingrid and Dimitri were arguing, Annette and Linhardt were both on the phone, and Lysithea and Ignatz were chatting worriedly.

"They'll figure it out," Claude said quietly to her, nodding to Ingrid and Dimitri. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened to their families."

Byleth felt sick. "Duscur," she murmured.

Claude nodded. His brow furrowed as he looked over her face. "Are you alright?"

Byleth huffed and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "I don't know," she muttered. "Why is everything going crazy right now?"

Claude frowned. "It's like a ticking bomb was just waiting to go off," he mumbled. He looked at Dimitri and his frown deepened. "My family is all safe in Almyra, but I can't help but be worried someone will try to pin this on them."

Byleth inhaled sharply. She hadn't considered that. Up until that moment she hadn't even been thinking about the 'who' of the bombing or even the real 'why', just the people who were affected by it.

"You should call your family too," she said to Claude.

He nodded after a moment and spared her one last glance. "What about you?"

Byleth shrugged. "My dad's gone, remember? Seteth's here and I'm sure his daughter is on her way."

"Byleth!" a new voice cut in and Byleth and Claude both turned to see the slender figure of Flayn with her curly green hair running towards them.

Claude laughed faintly. "Alright then. I'll leave you to it." He stepped away as Flayn approached, sliding his phone to his ear to make a call.

Byleth barely managed to catch Flayn as the younger girl threw her arms around Byleth's waist to hug her tightly. Flayn pulled back after a brief moment, her green eyes glittering with fear and sadness.

"Where's Father?"

Byleth glanced back at the entrance to the dig. "I think he's still down there. He'll be out soon. I'm sure he just had a few things to secure."

Flayn nodded and stepped back further to assess Byleth. "You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

"No. The bomb was in Fhirdiad, not here, don't worry. Everyone is just shaken up."

Flayn sighed and her eyes strayed around the courtyard. She tensed suddenly and Byleth frowned, turning to follow her gaze. Flayn was staring at Ignatz with a look of absolute bewilderment and shock on her expression. Byleth turned back to Flayn to ask her what was wrong when a headache exploded behind her eyes so suddenly she doubled over and basically collapsed.

Byleth's vision flashed white and she saw a series of rapid images of Flayn and Ignatz in an ancient, rustic village. In each image, Flayn looked the same as she did now, but Ignatz seemed to age rapidly. In the last vision, Seteth was there, holding Flayn's hand as she looked down at an elderly Ignatz who appeared to be on his deathbed.

Her sight returned to her and she gasped in a breath. Ice flooded through her veins as pieces of the puzzle she didn't know she'd been collecting clicked. Flayn's shock at seeing Ignatz. Seteth's virulent protectiveness of his daughter. The surprise that he had displayed when Jeralt had first introduced Seteth and Byleth. Seteth's encyclopedic knowledge of the Unification Era and his obsession with properly excavating the old monastery.

"_Holy shit_," Byleth swore. She ripped out of Flayn's grasp and cast a short look around the courtyard. Everyone else had apparently been too preoccupied to notice her doubling over in pain. "Holy shit!" she swore again.

Flayn looked deeply concerned. "Byleth?"

Byleth rubbed her temples and shook her head. "This is crazy. This is absolutely crazy." She dropped her hands and gave Flayn a suspicious look. "How old are you?"

Flayn blinked, caught off guard. "Um," she hesitated.

Byleth shook her head again. "I can't believe you never told me. I can't believe I never noticed any of this sooner. I bet you stopped keeping count a couple hundred years ago, didn't you?"

Flayn looked like Byleth had just dumped ice water on her head. "What are you talking about?" she said coldly. Her voice was tight with just enough panic that Byleth knew she was correct.

Before she could reply, a hand closed around her wrist and Byleth turned to find the stony expression of her advisor.

"Let's talk somewhere private," Seteth suggested shortly.

* * *

Byleth was pacing Seteth's office. Flayn had made tea for all three of them, but she was the only one drinking it and her hands were shaking a little as she did so. Seteth was seated at his desk, watching Byleth pace the length of the room, not unlike how she had done so in the past, but this was for an entirely different reason.

"Byleth," Seteth finally cut in and Byleth abruptly stopped pacing and stared at him.

She sighed and finally sank into the seat next to Flayn. "What the fuck, Seteth?" she demanded breathily.

Flayn burst out laughing and Seteth frowned. Flayn smothered her giggles and shrugged. "I think it's fitting that of anyone, it's her that figured it out."

Seteth let out a long sigh. "Before you can even ask it, I'll answer it. Yes, I am the same advisor who was the Guardian's right-hand man during the Unification Years. Though," his gaze softened, "I knew her by a different name. She was the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros and Royal Consort to the King of Fódlan."

Byleth narrowed her eyes. "What was her name?"

Seteth smiled faintly. "Byleth Eisner," he said.

Every muscle in Byleth's body froze and her brain short-circuited entirely. She shot to her feet again, nearly knocking over the teacup Flayn had poured for her.

"_What_?" she demanded, her voice cracking.

Seteth pursed his lips. "I'm sure all of this is very confusing so please, let me explain." Byleth slowly sat down and waited. "I don't believe that you are the same person; however, and Flayn will agree, the resemblance is uncanny. And yet, with the era we're currently in, I am far more inclined to believe this is divine intervention from the goddess where you have all been reincarnated."

Byleth inhaled sharply. "Reincarnated? All of us?"

Seteth sighed. "When I met your father, I was mostly confused. Then, he introduced me to you and I knew something bigger was going on. Then Duscur occurred and I knew this was much bigger than just you." He looked deeply saddened for a moment.

"Byleth," Flayn took over. "Please understand that when the Guardian disappeared almost eight hundred years ago, we didn't know what happened. She never told us anything and then she was just gone."

Byleth leaned back in disbelief. "You really don't know what happened?"

Seteth hung his head. "No," he agreed. "That's why we even risked it to come back to Garreg Mach after all this time. We had hoped enough time had passed that we could come here to figure it out. I hoped that getting into the Old Monastery ruins would be enough to allow me to discover the truth, but with everything that's going on it doesn't look like I'm going to get any closer than I was previously."

Byleth dropped her head into her hands as she processed. There was so much to take in and she didn't understand most of it, but there were a few glaring questions that sprung out of her brain.

"You didn't have anything to do with the Scorch, right?"

Seteth looked offended. "Of course not! We would never have intentionally damaged the monastery even to remove records of our presence."

Byleth nodded. "Of course." She considered the chaos swirling in her brain. "Do you know how the Saviour King died then?"

Seteth frowned. "Unfortunately, I was on not-so-excellent terms with both His Majesty and Her Grace at the time so as far as I am aware it was while they were on a diplomatic trip and it had something to do with the Sreng region where His Majesty had just travelled."

Byleth sighed. "Why haven't you done anything about this? There are so many destroyed records from the Scorch that you could have filled in. You could have preserved so much of our history."

Seteth looked down and Byleth caught the briefest flash of guilt on his face. "I had hoped to use the Scorch to our advantage to disappear and start again fully. I will also admit that once I saw how Fódlan was changing, I thought that it might be better to let the past fall away and to focus on the future." He looked up and made eye contact with her. "Since I'm sitting here looking the past in the face, I must confess that I must have been wrong."

Something in Byleth's chest tightened uncomfortably and she stood up. "I won't blow your cover," she said quietly. "I won't say anything about any of this, but I would appreciate some time to process."

* * *

Claude was waiting for her outside of the building, sitting on the steps. He stood up when she reappeared and Byleth paused and stared at him.

"Why haven't you gone home?" she asked abruptly.

He stifled a yawn and shifted his weight. "You disappeared with Seteth and Flayn and you looked like you were about to explode and murder someone. I wanted to check in on you."

Byleth pressed her lips together. "You're not my keeper," she muttered shortly.

Claude tried to cross his arms, but the awkwardness of his sling caused him to abandon the action half-way through and drop his good arm back to his side. "I'm trying to be your friend, Byleth," he retorted.

She sighed and rubbed at her temples. "Sorry, that was unfair of me."

His lips twitched into a half-smile. "A bit."

"Everything is okay," she added after a moment. She started walking away from the History building and Claude followed, keeping pace. "I just got a headache and everything is a bit tense with all that's happening."

Claude nodded. "That's understandable."

She glanced at his face. He was staring out at the campus as they walked, looking troubled and her heart tightened. "Seteth wants to cancel the dig. He was already planning on doing it before all of this, but I can't imagine we'll ever be allowed back down there after all of this."

Claude stopped walking. "Seriously? We're so close to breaking through to something and he's just going to give up?"

Byleth grazed her toe along the stones beneath her feet. "I hate the idea too, but if it's dangerous, we can't expect to continue working."

He sighed. "I know, I know, it's just hard to imagine that we got this far and a series of events derailed it so quickly."

Byleth gave his sling a pointed look. "Considering the state of your arm, I think it's unfair to just call them events."

He smiled faintly. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

They walked in silence for a while until they reached the part where the campus buildings gave way to University Village at the foot of the hill. Claude's house was only a short walk from there and Byleth's bus left from a stop in the same direction so they continued to stroll in comfortable silence.

The chaos of the day was still buzzing through her mind so she didn't notice the group of people strolling toward them until one of them bumped against Claude's bad shoulder, causing him to stumble into Byleth. Claude stopped immediately and scowled at the guy that had bumped into him.

"What the hell, man?" he demanded.

Byleth sucked in a slow breath as she realized that the guy who had bumped into Claude had four other guys with him who had formed a loose circle around them. Byleth placed her hand on Claude's elbow in warning and he took in the situation, his spine straightening.

Without further warning, the guy who had bumped into Claude swung at him. Claude ducked, barely managing to dodge the clumsy punch. Byleth grabbed Claude by the hand and kicked at one of the other guys. He dodged out of her way, but she had created an opening and dragged Claude through it into an alley off the main road.

Someone else grabbed at Byleth's hair and managed to wrench her away from Claude. Byleth cried out as pain arced along her scalp. She reached back and dug her fingernails into the guy's hand until he released her. She spun to face him and, recalling every one of her father's self-defence lessons, she jabbed her hand out, catching the guy in the throat with the butt of her hand. He choked and recoiled away from her.

One of the other men sprung at her, wielding a switchblade. Byleth shifted on her toes, redirected the jab of his arm, and swung her elbow into his jaw in the same motion. She drove her knee into his groin for good measure and he went down. She quickly turned back to Claude and saw two of the men were holding him against the side of one of the buildings in the alley. He had taken another one down, as evidenced by the writhing man on the ground who was holding his face.

"Almyran shithead," one of the men growled. He slammed Claude back against the building and Byleth cringed as Claude's head knocked against the brick.

She lunged at them, aiming a kick for the back of the guy's knees. He buckled and she quickly struck at the last guy, flipping her key into her fist as she jabbed at him. He dodged her first strike and his heavy fist caught her along the jaw, sending her reeling back as she saw stars. Before she could gather herself, someone grabbed her shoulder and her hair, jerking her head back. The sharp prick of a blade at her throat caused her to still and she held her breath.

The man whose knees she had kicked out stood and regarded her. His eyes were cold and sharp and most of his face was concealed by a black baseball cap. His own knife clicked out and Byleth's eyes flickered to Claude who had gone limp against the stone wall still in the grip of one of their attackers.

The man in front of her leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. "Stay dead, goddess shit," he hissed.

He moved to stab her and Byleth shifted, kicking him in the shins. He stumbled back and she threw the other man off of her with another swing of her elbow. Claude came to life, smashing his good arm against the face of the man holding him. Byleth scrambled to his side and they stood next to each other.

Tires squealed at the rear of the alley and the thugs noticed that the violence had caught someone's attention. They scattered, sprinting away, leaving behind Byleth and Claude who were both injured, winded, and in shock.

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 14 Lone Moon, 7 AU_

Byleth found the odd trio in the library right where she was expecting to. Lysithea was studying some maps of Alliance territory and Linhardt had his head down against a book next to her as he dozed. Claude was sitting on the library stairs, flipping through a book on the history of dark magic.

She cleared her throat. Claude and Lysithea looked up, but Linhardt stayed asleep. Claude stood and followed her out into the hall without a word.

"Have you reconsidered?" she asked.

Claude laughed. "Come on, Teach, I told you. It was a together or nothing deal. I'm not taking you without His Majesty and since you refuse to broach the subject with him, then we're not going anywhere."

Byleth scowled at his stubbornness. "And how are you explaining your extended absence to your own court, Your Majesty?" she asked snarkily.

He shrugged. "Same way you've explained our continued presence to your advisor, friends and husband."

Byleth folded her arms. They were stubbornly at an impasse as Claude refused to lead an attack against Those Who Slither in the Dark without Dimitri and Byleth refused to get Dimitri involved. She knew that she could eventually figure out the location of the enemy with enough time, but Claude's trickster ways would undoubtedly speed up the process exponentially.

"Look, Byleth, I'm going to keep looking into this, but we're not doing it without him. This affects Dimitri too. Someone tried to kill him too, but I think we can both agree he cares more about the fact that they went after you. I have to go home soon, you're right, but I'll be here for a few more days if you change your mind."

"Claude!" she argued. "Please."

He gave her an almost sympathetic look before he disappeared back into the library, leaving her in the hallway alone. Byleth's shoulders dropped with exhaustion. She knew that Claude had been a stubborn young man, but his crown had apparently only served to arm him with more political knowledge and a greater ability to resist argument.

She huffed in exasperation and turned to head back to her office. Her vision tunnelled unexpectedly and she stumbled. She caught herself against the wall and exhaled slowly. Since the attack, she had been suffering from bouts of dizziness and weakness that were unexplainable to anyone but Seteth who knew the truth about what was really happening to her.

She made it most of the way back to her office when she saw a familiar face. Dimitri was standing just outside the Audience Chamber, staring at its large imposing doors like he was waiting for something. Byleth hesitated and almost didn't continue forward. She steeled her nerves and approached her husband.

"Dimitri?" she called out to him.

He turned towards her, looking startled. "Beloved," he replied. He glanced back at the Audience Chamber door. "I was just coming to see you."

There was something about the earnestness of his expression that hit a little closer to home than usual. She pressed her lips together and closed the distance to her husband, leaning up to kiss him lightly on the lips.

His brow was furrowed when he pulled away. He cupped her face with his large hands and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. "How are you feeling today?"

Byleth frowned. He, and everyone else, was so worried about her health. She was taking a notably longer amount of time to recover from the attack than he had. There had been something about the dark magic which had sapped at her strength with a particular, unexplainable brutalness.

"I'm fine," she assured her husband. "I was just speaking with Claude," she added.

Dimitri perked up. "Have they uncovered anything?"

"Nothing he will tell me," Byleth said quietly. "I may have proposed something Claude did not agree with."

Dimitri's hands dropped to her biceps and he squeezed lightly. "What?"

She closed her eyes. She couldn't lie to him. "I asked him to involve me while keeping you out of it."

Dimitri's hands dropped away and Byleth's eyes snapped open. He looked offended, but not necessarily mad. "You wanted to go after the people that tried to kill you without me? You wanted to keep me out of this?" His voice was eerily even and Byleth caught the flash of fervent disappointment in his good eye.

She steeled her nerves. "They said this attack was likely just on me. Fódlan needs a ruler. I'm expendable to the country because there are a dozen monks and cardinals who could be Archbishop."

"You're not expendable to me," he said coolly. There was frustration on his face now and she knew his anger was simmering not far below that.

He stepped back from her and Byleth felt his rejection like he had slapped her. She winced.

"If you're well enough to scheme with Claude then I suppose you're in good enough health that I can leave you to the care of the monks in the Church without hesitation. My council will be pleased to know that I can return to Fhirdiad now," he said. His words were flat and the dismissal in them stung her.

Her mind flashed to years ago when they had fought about little things and Felix and the others had had to interfere to make sure that their relationship was salvaged before it exploded. There had been an unwritten tension to the line of trust in their relationship since then, but neither of them had done anything to damage it further in the seven years since.

Dimitri stepped forward and kissed her on the forehead before he retreated and headed for the stairs back to the first floor. She let him go. It hurt to watch him walk away, but she couldn't budge on this. She couldn't lose him when people were only truly after herself.

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 25 Lone Moon, 7 AU_

Byleth bounced Annette's son on her lap and the boy giggled. Annette sipped her tea and laughed as she adjusted her young daughter in her own lap. The girl simply blinked at her mother before turning back to stare at Byleth.

Byleth smiled. "Oliver is certainly your son while I see Felix in Charlotte," she commented.

Annette laughed as she kissed Charlotte's fiery red hair. "Mhmm, though Felix tells me he wishes Ollie got my hair as well." She shook her head. "I think two redheaded ladies is more than enough for our household."

Byleth shifted Oliver so she could sip from her own teacup. "It's a shame he couldn't join us. I'm sure we could both use the sparring practice."

Annette rolled her eyes. "Well I'm sure he's getting plenty of work with a blade done up north while I'm here."

Byleth nearly spilled her tea. "Has he gone to visit Sylvain and Ingrid?"

Annette's brows shot up. "He's up north for the offensive. Sylvain reported movement on the Sreng side of the border including a group of dark mages. Felix told me that Dimitri had summoned everyone, though I didn't have a desire to fight and I know Mercedes has stayed home as well."

If Byleth had had a heart, it would have stopped. "Dimitri sent the summons?" she questioned, feeling lightheaded suddenly.

Annette's lips parted as she connected the dots. "Oh no," she mumbled faintly. "You didn't know."

Byleth stood up, jostling Oliver in her arms as she did so. She pressed her lips together. "How long is the flight to Sreng from here?"

Annette wet her lips as she calculated in her head. "Two days if you fly hard and fast."

Byleth waved for one of the knights at the edge of the garden. "Get a wyvern unit prepared for departure immediately. I am going to get my sword and then I'm going after my idiot of a husband."

* * *

_Sreng-Gautier Border - 27 Lone Moon, 7 AU_

The battle was well underway by the time Byleth's group finally crossed the Sreng border. Battalions and soldiers clashed and magic sent sparks and lights dancing across the field. It had been an exhausting two days of travel to reach the fight, but they had made it.

Almost immediately, a Sreng archer battalion set about trying to shoot down her soldiers and Byleth scattered her battalion with a wave of her hand to dodge the incoming arrows. It drew just enough attention to her that Byleth heard the beating of pegasus wings and saw Ingrid swinging towards her, the Falcon Knight holding a silver spear in her right hand.

"Your Grace!" she cried out. "We were told the church had other responsibilities!"

Byleth frowned and scanned the battlefield, looking for Dimitri. "Funnily enough, I wasn't even told there was going to be a fight!" she yelled back.

Ingrid hurled her spear into the flank of an incoming wyvern rider. "Sweet Seiros," she cursed in reply. She retrieved her weapon and pointed it to the western edge of the battle. "Dimitri and Sylvain went that way after the mages' battalion."

Byleth nodded and let a burst of Nosferatu strike at another enemy wyvern before she directed her own mount towards where Ingrid had pointed. She managed to avoid most of the attacks that were directed her way as she crossed the aerial war zone until she finally caught sight of both Dimitri and Sylvain.

Sylvain's usual mount was nowhere to be seen, but he was wielding the Lance of Ruin with deadly precision as he fought by Dimitri's side. Areadbhar cut through the enemy lines like it was nothing in a ruthless pattern Byleth had hardly seen since the war almost 8 years ago. Just beyond the front line, a particular dark mage caught Byleth's attention.

He was wearing the same grey robes as the mages that had attacked them at the monastery and Dimitri and Sylvain hadn't seemed to notice him yet. He appeared to be charging some type of dark magic spell between his hands with his gaze solidly fixed on the King of Fódlan.

Byleth leaned over the neck of her wyvern and urged it into a burst of speed. She soared over Dimitri and Sylvain, cutting a direct path to the mage. At the last possible second, she hurled herself from the saddle, lashing out with the cracking blade of the Sublime Creator Sword. The mage crumpled beneath her blow and Byleth tucked and rolled to absorb the impact.

The collision with the ground still caused every bone in her body to ache, but she sprung back to her feet just in time to see that Dimitri had reached her. He looked completely taken aback and mildly horrified to see her.

"What is wrong with you?" she demanded, turning to cut down another mage.

Dimitri let out a growl. "I was trying to protect you!" He turned towards her and hurled Areadbhar like a javelin. It sunk into the chest of a Sreng soldier behind her and he sprinted to retrieve it.

"You would have died if I hadn't been here!" Byleth yelled back, snapping her sword against the body of the mage she had protected him from. "I was only trying to do the same when I approached Claude."

Dimitri's back pressed against hers as they fought together. Though they had not been on a battlefield together in years, their chemistry was still perfect. When he left her an opening, she took it and when she needed assistance, he gave it. Finally, when they had felled the last of the soldiers around them she turned to face him, still furious.

Dimitri dropped Areadbhar and kissed her.

Byleth tensed and pulled away from him. "We're a team," she said firmly. She leaned in and kissed him again, harder.

Dimitri pulled away this time. "Now we're even," he said. "And I have the proof I needed to know that this isn't just about you. Sylvain and I have been working to provoke a Sreng attack on myself. It clearly worked."

Sylvain coughed and the couple turned towards him. He nudged one of the mages. "They aren't from Sreng. I think Claude's right. They must be trying to frame Sreng for this attack."

Byleth exhaled slowly and scanned the battlefield around them. Her arrival had sufficiently turned the tide and the battle was slowing to a crawl as Fódlani troops drove off the Sreng forces. There was no immediate danger to them.

She turned back to Dimitri and grabbed his armour. "I love you," she said fiercely. "We're going to contact Claude again and we're going to do this together. I promise."

Dimitri smiled at her. "Agreed."

* * *

_Author's Note: No reprieve for Byleth and Claude in the present geez and the mysterious Sreng trip occurred. I'm terrified to write the next chapter, but I know it'll be a good one. _

_I hope everyone's safe and as healthy as can be. Remember to practice positivity and patience in these times._

_\- Nicole_


	10. X - To Fall Apart

X - To Fall Apart

* * *

_Garreg Mach Town - 16 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

A car skidded to a halt at the entrance of the alley as the thugs scattered. The passenger side door opened and Edelgard flew out of the vehicle, eyes wide. She sprinted towards both Byleth and Claude and scanned the area around them.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, out of breath as she looked between Byleth and Claude.

Byleth sighed deeply and rubbed at her jaw which was still aching. "I believe we were just jumped," she muttered dryly.

Claude forced a laugh. "How I love the racism that permeates this country."

Edelgard folded her arms as she assessed the two of them. "Racism?"

Claude leaned against the side of one of the buildings. He closed his eyes and raised his hands to make air quotes. "Almyran shithead," he recalled.

Byleth frowned. She thought about what the man had said to her, but the words made her deeply uncomfortable, especially considering what she had learned from Seteth earlier that evening. She turned to study Claude again.

"You hit your head. Are you alright?"

Byleth raised a hand to touch Claude's face and his eyes snapped open. He jerked back a bit out of reflex and Byleth froze, her hand hanging stupidly between them. There was a spark of something warm in Claude's eyes before they iced over with a forced indifference.

"We don't need two people with concussions," Edelgard cut in, ignoring the strange tension between her former TA and her friend. "Let's get you guys to the hospital and then to the police to report the incident."

"No," Claude said sharply. "We're not reporting it."

"What?" Byleth and Edelgard demanded together.

"Claude," Byleth continued. "Maybe you've forgotten, but those men were carrying knives. They would have killed both of us." She touched the red line on her throat. The blade hadn't broken skin, but it easily could have.

Claude set his jaw. "I'll have my head checked," he conceded, "but, if we report this, they'll only go after more Almyrans. It will piss them off and they'll take it out on more innocent people. It's better to just let it happen."

"He has a point," Hubert replied.

Byleth's head snapped towards Edelgard and saw that Hubert had appeared from the vehicle as well, presumably from the driver's side. It was mildly disconcerting that she hadn't even heard him approach.

Claude nodded and then winced, touching his temple. "I'm going to need a nap," he muttered.

Byleth frowned. "That's never a good thing after a head injury."

Edelgard folded her arms. "Let's go then. Hubert will drive. You two can sit in the back and, Byleth, do not let him fall asleep."

* * *

_Garreg Mach University Hospital - 17 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

Despite his arguments, Byleth waited with Claude in the hospital. At around one-thirty in the morning, a doctor finally came by, prescribing him some mild painkillers and doing a last check of his head and his still injured arm. She had then dismissed them, saying Claude was thankfully not concussed, but she told Byleth to make sure that he didn't head home alone just in case.

They walked through the hospital in silence together towards the front door. Byleth had called Leonie, much to Claude's frustration, and his roommate was on the way to the hospital to pick him up. She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to get home, but it wasn't too far a walk from the hospital to a bus line.

As they exited the entrance of the hospital, both of their phones chimed with email notifications. Claude's brow furrowed as he pulled out his phone first. Byleth watched his face as he scanned the email and noticed how it dropped, disappointed.

"I guess that's that then," he mumbled.

He turned his phone to her and Byleth scanned the email from Seteth. It detailed how the National Museum and University had decided to end the dig. Apparently they were being allowed one more day to wrap up and Seteth was turning it into a small send-off party. In a week, the entire team would gather on the dig site to share drinks and thanks for everyone involved before the project would be officially ended.

Byleth sighed. "I was expecting this," she admitted.

Claude slid his phone away and shrugged. "I'm not surprised," he agreed. "It's just frustrating. There's so much history that's hidden just under our fingertips and it's getting buried all over again. Who knows how long it will be until there's another expedition approved."

Byleth smiled at Claude's passion. "You're sure you're not interested in the archaeology program after graduation, right?" she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Claude's lips twitched. "I've considered it," he said.

Byleth almost laughed until she noted the seriousness on his face. He wasn't joking. "You're serious?" she questioned, almost disbelieving.

Claude's posture stiffened and his tone turned almost defensive. "Is that a bad thing?"

Byleth twisted a hand in the hem of her sweater. "I didn't realize that," she trailed off.

Claude turned to face her, green eyes glittering under the harsh fluorescent lights. "That I could have that choice?"

Byleth swallowed. "You're a prince," she said quietly. "I assumed," she corrected, "you had a duty set out before you."

Claude shifted closer to her. The glint in his eyes changed from curiosity to something deeper and more intense. "Is that why you ran away from me?"

Byleth's breath caught. This conversation had veered drastically into territory she hadn't expected. Claude's breathless confession from Ignatz's birthday echoed through her mind and Seteth's explanation doused all of her senses in icy cold water.

She stepped away from Claude.

Mild irritation flashed on his expression. "What are you afraid of, Byleth?"

They were bathed in warm yellow light from the headlights of a beat-up truck before she could respond. Byleth lifted a hand to block the light as the driver jumped out. Leonie jogged towards them, wearing a GMU Archery hoodie and grey sweatpants.

"Hey!" she called. "Are you guys alright?"

Claude stepped further away from Byleth and rubbed his temple. "All good. I have a thick skull after all."

Leonie crossed her arms and glanced at Byleth. "Do you have a ride coming too?"

Byleth shook her head. "My bus is just down the street. I'll be fine."

Leonie snorted. "Like hell. I'm guessing you're planning on being alone at your apartment too?"

"I was," Byleth conceded after a pause.

"No way," Leonie said, shaking her head. "Both of you get in the truck. Byleth, you're welcome to come hang out at Golden Deer House. I don't think any of us will be getting much sleep tonight. Cyril's over too and Hilda and Lorenz have headed to Fhirdiad."

Byleth glanced at Claude, silently asking if he was okay with it. The irritation he had displayed earlier was gone, replaced with something softer as he nodded subtly. Byleth nodded overtly to Leonie and the trio made their way to the truck.

"What happened to you guys anyway?" Leonie asked as she turned her key in the ignition.

Byleth and Claude exchanged a look before Claude replied. "Got hit by a cyclist. Cracked the old noggin against a building."

Byleth pressed her lips together in distaste, but her disapproval went unnoticed in the dark of the night. Low tinny music filtered from the car's speakers, but no one moved to turn it up or down as they sat in silence for the short drive through the university suburbs until they reached the Golden Deer house.

Leonie led the way inside the house, kicking off her shoes and hanging her keys on a hook by the door. Byleth hesitated by the door and Claude glanced at her as he awkwardly removed his shoes thanks to his sling.

"By?"

She inhaled and stepped inside, shaking her head. "I'm okay," she mumbled. "Today has just been a lot."

She could hear chatter from the living room of the house that sounded like Leonie and Lysithea and someone else. Claude led her into the living room and she saw Raphael lounging on the floor by an armchair, Lysithea and a boy she didn't know huddled on the couch. Raph sat up when he saw Byleth and Claude enter.

"Hey Claude, and it's Byleth, right?" he called in his booming voice.

Byleth nodded and offered Raphael a small smile. Before she could greet him back, Lysithea let out a cry of protest as the boy she was with snatched her phone and shoved it away from them.

"You're not making this better, Lysithea," he said calmly. He had a mild Almyran accent which almost caught Byleth off-guard, but she concealed her surprise.

Lysithea frowned and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I know, I just hate not knowing what's happening."

Leonie coughed and looked between Byleth and the Almyran boy. "This is Cyril, Byleth. And Cyril, this is Byleth, the archaeology TA."

Cyril smiled at her grimly and Byleth nodded in greeting. Claude moved past Byleth and sank onto the loveseat couch. He grabbed the remote for the TV and clicked it on, pulling up a channel that was playing a stupid kids movie.

"Let's not think about horrible things," he suggested.

Leonie sat in the armchair and Raphael leaned against the arm of it as they focused on the TV and Lysithea and Cyril both seemed to calm at the idea, settling in to watch the film. Claude glanced at Byleth where she stood at the entrance to the room and then motioned for her to sit next to him on the couch.

Byleth hesitantly took a seat on the small sofa. Claude didn't seem interested in making it weird at all so she slowly relaxed as the movie played in the background, effectively distracting them. Sometime later, when her eyelids were getting heavy and the movie was nothing but static in the background, Byleth felt Claude's arm slip around her as they curled into each other.

She let her discomfort and uncertainty drift away as she leaned against him, drinking in his warmth. Claude's head pressed against hers and Byleth let her eyes close.

It didn't feel wrong anymore.

* * *

_Old Monastery Excavation Site, Garreg Mach University - 25 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

Byleth wasn't the first person to arrive on-site, but she was still early. There were lots of hugs and handshakes being exchanged as colleagues from the National Museum and the University were saying their farewells. Someone had opened a bottle of champagne, despite the fact that it was barely afternoon and Byleth found herself sipping from a glass as she flipped through an artifact catalogue.

"It's too bad that this is how it ends," Dimitri said, interrupting her thought process.

Byleth placed the catalogue down and smiled at him. "It's unfortunate," she agreed. "But, without funding and staff, there isn't much we can do."

Dimitri sighed. "I wish I would have known about this sooner. Perhaps some of my family's funds could have helped keep us open."

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "Fund the trip personally? Seteth would never let you do that, Dimitri."

The blonde smiled and sipped his own champagne. "No, he wouldn't, but it would have been nice to try."

Dimitri looked tired, as he often did, and Byleth wracked her brain for something that she could say to him. She was saved from her thoughts when Claude and Edelgard approached them, Edelgard's arm linked through Claude's good arm. He had finally gotten his sling removed, but his left arm was still in a slim cast.

"There you are, Dimitri," Edelgard said as she approached. "We were going to get a picture of the undergrad team together."

Claude glanced at Byleth. "Maybe you could take it, Teach?"

Byleth nodded. "I'd be honoured to."

The four of them quickly made their way to where the rest of the team was waiting and Byleth had them all squeeze into frame as she snapped a few photos on Ignatz's camera and then Edelgard's phone. She was just checking over the photos on Edelgard's phone to make sure no one had blinked when a figure in the back of the frame caught her attention.

It was a security guard wearing the usual uniform, but Byleth didn't recognize him. She had recognized most of the guards by this point in the dig, but this one was unfamiliar to her. She didn't have long to ponder it as Edelgard quickly took back her phone, thanking Byleth for the photos.

Her attention was then drawn to the tapping of something against glass. Seteth was standing at the entrance of the dig, tapping a pen against a half-full glass of champagne. Slowly the chatter around them died to nothing as he gained the attention of the room.

"This is not exactly the send-off I had planned when I first received my approval for this project," he began. "But, I do still have a few things to say regardless of this. I must first extend thanks to the Fhirdiad National Museum of Unification for funding and green-lighting this project and for all our colleagues from the museum who have been a part of the expedition. And of course, thanks also go to Garreg Mach University and my fellow academics in the archaeology department."

Seteth's gaze landed on Byleth and he smiled. "To my post-grads, Harriet and James, I thank you for putting up with my chaotic planning of this trip for the last couple of years. To Byleth, who stepped up as a TA for me last semester so I could iron out the logistics and who was my administrator for the undergraduate program. And, of course, to our undergraduates who stepped up to learn and assist exactly as they were needed."

Byleth lifted her own glass. "And to Seteth! Who put in so much work to get us here and pulled so many strings that the project never would have gotten off the pages of a notebook without you!"

Seteth's smile broadened as he lifted his glass in her direction. "To all of us and the success we had in a short time."

Cheers erupted across the room and glasses tapped together as people toasted to the end of the project. Byleth drained her glass and it was almost immediately replaced with a full one by a winking Harriet. Byleth rolled her eyes, but sipped again from the glass. The champagne was definitely cheap, but it still did the job in giving a pleasant buzz to her system as it was consumed.

More photos were taken and a few more people gave speeches to celebrate the end of the dig. Some of the equipment began to get dismantled, but most people were still just talking and theorizing about all of the things that they hadn't been able to get to during the dig. Byleth was chatting with James and a historian from the National Museum when a hand on her elbow stole her attention.

Claude stood just behind her, wearing a small smile. Byleth excused herself from the conversation and turned her full attention to Claude. He slid a hand to her back and guided her further away from other people until it was just the two of them.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

Byleth shrugged. "Mourning the loss of an interesting project. Dreading finding a new information source for my thesis. Normal things, you know."

Claude pursed his lips and his hand dropped away from her back. "Why are you being weird?"

Byleth blinked. "Weird?"

Claude glanced towards the front part of the excavation site where Seteth was chatting with Ignatz and a few university faculty. "You've been acting strange since you spoke with Seteth last week. I didn't push it then, but, Byleth, it's been more obvious recently."

She crossed her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Hurt flashed across Claude's face. "Every time with you. Every time we take one step forward it's followed by six steps back. I don't know what to say, Byleth."

Her throat tightened. "What are you saying?"

Claude ran his good hand through his hair. "I think I've been pretty clear with how I feel about you," he began and Byleth's face flushed. "If you would say the word, I would give you the world, Byleth."

She bit her lip. "Claude," she whispered. Her chest constricted and she wanted to say something kind or to touch him gently like she had the night they had fallen asleep in the living room.

He shut his eyes and sighed. "I don't know what you want from me or what I'm supposed to do anymore, By." He stepped back from her and Byleth realized how closely they had been standing with a jolt. "If you figure it out, let me know, okay?"

He started to walk away from her and Byleth couldn't make herself move. Her eyes followed him for a moment before they wandered until they landed on the security guard she didn't recognize. The man was studying one of the statues at the edge of the main room and Byleth instinctively walked towards him.

"It's a statue of one of the ancient Saints," she said when she was close enough.

The man turned to her. His expression stayed perfectly neutral and calm, but there was something about his face that seemed vaguely familiar. "Is it?" he questioned.

Byleth nodded. "Haven't you been on-site before?"

He shook his head. "Filling in for a friend who was sick today."

She hummed faintly as she looked at the statue. "It's a shame it's ending like it is."

"I suppose it is," the security guard agreed.

Ice crawled through her veins unexpectedly and she stepped away, glancing over her shoulder. Dimitri was standing nearby, talking to a faculty member of the university.

"Excuse me," she said politely and then walked away, headed in Dimitri's direction.

Dimitri glanced up as she approached and smiled. He opened his mouth to say something, but then his expression slackened with what looked like terror. Byleth didn't get a chance to so much as move before he lunged forward, tackling her around the middle. They hit the ground behind a supply crate just as the pop of gunfire filled the air.

Someone screamed and chaos broke loose.

* * *

_Goneril Territory - 24 Great Tree Moon, 7 AU_

The encampment was bustling. Soldiers and battalions were moving around in what was almost complete chaos. Byleth herself was directing the Knights of Seiros to where they would be staying. They were one of the last groups to arrive since they had wanted to ensure the monastery's safety for as long as possible before making the trek to Goneril territory.

Seteth remained at the monastery since Byleth was still angry with him. She and Dimitri had simply told Seteth that they had more business in Sreng, which was a clear lie, but her advisor had either bought the story or didn't want to argue further. Ignatz had arrived a day prior, but without Flayn, as Byleth had asked him to tell her to visit her father without explaining everything fully.

"Byleth!" a familiar loud voice called.

Byleth spun and saw the glinting armour and elegant long hair of Ferdinand. Dorothea was at his side, wearing modified Warlock's robes and looking just as beautiful as ever. Byleth quickly pushed her way towards her former students and smiled.

"You came!" she said.

Dorothea pulled her into a hug and then Ferdinand bowed respectfully.

"Of course," Dorothea agreed. "You asked for allies and who are we to argue with that."

"Yes," Ferdinand agreed. "It was easy enough to find someone to watch the boys so that we could be here. We have brought our finest Aegir soldiers to fight in your service."

Byleth nodded. "Thank you."

"We'll let you go," Dorothea said. "You've got to be bouncing off the walls busy. We can make ourselves useful elsewhere."

"Mercedes was setting up the infirmary if you wanted to help her, Ferdinand, and I know Annette and Lysithea were coordinating the magic battalions if you wanted to step in there, Dorothea."

"Of course, Your Grace," Ferdinand agreed. With another bow, the Duke and Duchess disappeared into the throngs of people.

They were quickly replaced by Felix, who fell into step with Byleth as she walked to the central command tent.

"Caspar and Bernadetta arrived a few hours ago as well," he reported.

Byleth shook her head. "And Leonie's here and so is Raphael." She laughed. "When I requested help, I hadn't imagined they would all jump at the chance to come fight." She glanced at Felix. "You all have families now. We would have understood."

Felix shook his head. "Dimitri is our King and you are the leader of the Church. None of us will ever forget that or what you two have sacrificed for us over the last 12 years."

Byleth nodded to her friend. "Thank you, Felix."

Felix nodded and pulled aside the door of the Command tent for her. She stepped inside and he followed her in. Holst Goneril was inside, discussing with Claude as they moved pieces across a map. Dimitri was absent, but Areadbhar was on a weapon rack in the tent which meant that he wasn't far away. Felix stepped forward and said something to Holst which caused the former Alliance general to nod and add a few more pieces to their army on the map.

Claude looked up at Byleth as she approached. "Ferdinand and Dorothea?"

She nodded. "And Caspar and Bernie apparently."

Claude shook his head, looking mystified. "Lorenz and Marianne arrive today as well."

Holst laughed. "Look at you all. My sister was right when she said you guys had the most loyal class at the Academy all those years ago."

Felix crossed his arms and adjusted one of Holst's pieces which caused the Goneril noble to frown before nodding and accepting the move. "That's all Byleth," he admitted gruffly. "They wouldn't have rallied around anyone else."

"We're all proud to be here," a new voice said. Byleth turned and saw Leonie and Alois standing just inside the tent.

Byleth smiled and moved to hug both of them, cautious of Alois's clunky armour. "And we are proud to have you all."

The tent entrance behind Claude and Holst billowed and Dimitri entered, flanked by Sylvain and Ingrid. Alois clapped a hand on Byleth's shoulder and dipped his head in respect to the newly arrived nobles.

"The Knights are ready when you have our orders," he said confidently.

Byleth nodded to him and Alois quickly left, leaving the tent to the group of former students. She turned to her husband.

"Do we have a final tally?"

Dimitri nodded. "We have the Duscur Cavalry, Dominic Mages, Galatea Pegasus Troops, Fraldarius Soldiers, Gautier Soldiers, and the Blue Lion Knights from the Kingdom. I believe we also have the Varley and Bergliez troops in addition to the Aegir Knights. Hilda said she would round up the final tally of Alliance forces once Marianne and Lorenz arrived."

"Add in the Sauin troops and my mercenary band," Leonie advised Claude who was in the middle of rearranging some pieces on the map.

Ingrid and Felix set about helping him and Byleth watched the size of her army grow. Wearing her armour and standing in a command tent, she felt years younger and stronger than she had in a long time.

"And Brigid," Byleth added after a moment. "Ashe and Petra arrived yesterday."

"Shall I take a scouting party out?" Ingrid asked, turning away from the map.

Dimitri nodded. "Yes. The Victor Troops are excellent scouts if Ignatz is to be believed so take them with you on the ground."

Claude and Leonie both affirmed the capabilities of Ignatz's scouts and Ingrid bowed briefly to Byleth, Dimitri, and Claude before she lightly kissed Sylvain and disappeared from the tent. Holst studied the map for a moment longer before he turned to Sylvain.

"Let's go coordinate wyvern formations with the Almyrans, shall we?"

Sylvain nodded and beckoned to Felix. "You like bossing people around, Felix, you may as well come with us."

The three of them disappeared from the tent, leaving just Leonie, Claude, Byleth and Dimitri. Claude hummed under his breath as he watched Duke Fraldarius, Margrave Gautier and Duke Goneril leave.

"Then there were four," he mused.

Leonie snorted a laugh. "Make it three. I'm going to go get my men settled. Maybe Mercedes could use some more help at the infirmary too." She nodded. "Your Majesties."

As the tent flap waved with her departure, Dimitri let out a weary sigh.

"I know we should be glad for their presence, but I can't help but feel we're leading them all into danger."

"That's natural," Claude agreed. "This enemy is elusive. Lysithea and Linhardt are two of the brightest people I've ever worked with and it still took us a considerable amount of time to decipher Hubert's notes."

Byleth slid her hand into Dimitri's and squeezed it reassuringly. "Claude," she began and the Almyran King looked up at her. "Thank you for not letting me do this alone."

Claude's gaze skimmed between Dimitri and Byleth as he absorbed her words. He smiled faintly. "You two are a team," he acknowledged. "You have equal stakes in this fight."

"And thank you," Dimitri continued, "for doing this at all. You brought us the knowledge we needed and you cracked it and you're contributing your own countrymen to this fight despite the fact that you don't need to."

Claude shook his head. "We have a stake in this too. It's like Felix said. We rally behind Teach and you and the new Fódlan you've created." He held out a hand for Dimitri to shake. "You saved my ass in Derdriu. This is me repaying the favour."

The two kings shook hands and Byleth squeezed Dimitri's hand again. Claude dropped the grip and glanced back at the map. The formations seemed mostly outlined, leaving room for the full battle strategy to be envisioned.

"I'll leave this in your capable hands, Teach."

Byleth tensed. "Claude, these are your soldiers too."

He tipped his head to the side, considering her with a calculating glint in his green eyes. "Maybe," he conceded, "but, they're your army."

* * *

_Shambhala_ _\- 27 Great Tree Moon, 7 AU_

The battle for Shambhala was the craziest battle Byleth had ever led. The tight underground space led to struggles for mounted units, and the massive flashing lights threw off archers and mages. The base was designed to be defensible and unfriendly to invaders, but they pushed through.

The Almyran troops broke the line first, taking out a massive mechanical beast that had been hurling javelins at ranged units. The Aegir troops followed, using their speed to overwhelm enemy archers. The Duscur Cavalry followed them, striking heavily at magic users from close range.

Byleth slashed and cut a path with her sword so viciously she felt ten years younger. Something about the chaos of the fight had revived something inside of her that had been lying dormant for the 7 years since the war had ended. She fought like a machine, cutting down anyone who came too close and striking out with her magic against those who wouldn't come near her.

She helped Annette and Felix topple another large mech and assisted Bernie in incapacitating a turret that shot lightning. She cleared paths for Ashe and Petra to move their nimble Order of the Blue Sun through tight corridors. She laid her glowing hands on Raphael to keep him on his feet and she blasted lightning of her own at mages who targeted Alois and the other knights.

Claude's wyvern screeched above her head as he fired arrows of pure energy from Failnaught to fell enemies around them. Dimitri roared as he sliced with Areadbhar at her side. Battle cries echoed through the strange streets of the underground base.

Ashe yelled for Byleth's attention as he worked open the door to the inner sanctum. Byleth fought off the War Master who had tried to attack him while he worked. As soon as he had the door open, he ripped his silver bow from his back and fired three shots in quick succession. Claude's wyvern landed next to them and Dimitri reappeared from the throng of fighters.

"Go," Ashe said, gesturing to the door. "We'll hold the outside. You take out the sanctum."

Byleth and Dimitri exchanged a look and she glanced at Claude. "You're coming with us," she insisted. "You have a stake in this too."

Claude nodded and leapt from his large beast. He patted the creature's neck. "Ashe, she'll fight with you since she's too big for this door." He nodded to Dimitri and Byleth. "Let's go."

* * *

_Shambhala Inner Sanctum - 27 Great Tree Moon, 7 AU_

The inner sanctum was populated by only a few mages who fell to Claude's arrows and Byleth's magic and Dimitri's lance. Energy was rippling through Byleth and she felt like she could feel every inch of movement around the room from Dimitri's breaths to Claude's twitching fingers on his bow.

The chamber was dimly lit with flickering blue lights like the rest of the city. Claude stepped closer to her and Dimitri and kept his voice low.

"There has to be something more here," he hissed.

Dimitri's hand tightened on his lance. "This isn't it," he agreed.

Byleth set both her hands aglow and pressed one against each King, giving them a small reprieve of healing. Her head pounded as she did so and she shook it off, frowning. Before any of them could move, there was a piercing shriek as the earth around them erupted, throwing them all backwards.

Byleth landed half on top of Dimitri as the dark magic crackled across both of them. It burned as it seared over her skin and she screamed out before she could stop herself. Dimitri grunted heavily beneath her, but he recovered faster and pulled them both to their feet.

The ground had exploded violently upwards, and, through the flickering lights and settling dust, Byleth couldn't see Claude. Chunks of the ceiling had also been dislodged, sealing her and Dimitri in the deeper half of the sanctum. She could only hope that Claude was clear on the other side, not crushed beneath the rock.

"Fell Star," a grizzled voice called from ahead of her.

Byleth spun, clenching her hands on the Sublime Sword of the Creator. Standing at the top of a dais that had previously been concealed in shadow was the man who had saved Kronya in the chapel outskirts and the man who had knocked her off the cliff at the start of the war.

Dimitri tensed next to her, obviously also recognizing the man.

"Or should I call you Sothis?" the man prodded.

Byleth snapped the sword against the ground with a loud snap. "You're Thales," she guessed. Hubert had mentioned the leader of the underground faction by name a few times in his notes. "You were impersonating Arundel. I killed Arundel."

Thales's eyes narrowed viciously. "You thought you killed him," he corrected. "It turns out that illusions work in the caster's favour when the target has other priorities." His gaze slid from Byleth to Dimitri and he smiled wickedly. "The Goddess Reborn and her Champion of Beasts," he mused.

"Shambhala has fallen. We will take the stronghold today," Byleth said firmly, stepping closer to Thales, her blade raised.

"Solon had the right idea with you, I think. The wrong execution, but the right idea," Thales sneered.

Before Byleth or Dimitri could move, Thales snapped his fingers and fire ignited in Byleth's veins. She crumpled immediately, screaming at the top of her lungs as pain rocketed through her more intensely than any pain she'd ever felt before. She writhed on the ground and Dimitri knelt next to her, looking utterly distraught.

Finally, the pain stole her voice away completely and Byleth could _feel_ the life sapping out of her body. The burn of the Crest Stone in her chest intensified as it consumed her mortality with a brutal passion, emblazoned by whatever Thales had just done to her.

"Stop!" Dimitri howled.

Byleth, weakly, tried to grab for him, but Dimitri was strongest when he was protective and raging. There was a dull crash behind them as someone pounded against the rocks. Thales laughed and continued to focus his magic on draining Byleth's life away.

"Poor little goddess wasn't built to survive," he snarled.

Dimitri hurled himself forward, slashing viciously with Areadbhar and Thales dropped his spell on Byleth to call a shield to protect himself. Dimitri harried him with blows, yelling in rage and pain. Byleth gasped for air as she tried to regain some of her strength, but it felt like someone had stolen the life right out of her. She rolled to her side and propped herself up on her hands and knees, trying to rise.

Her eyes landed on Dimitri as her love pounded at Thales's shield. Byleth watched in horror as Thales's left hand slid back from the shield that was maintained by his right. As Dimitri reared back for another ferocious strike, Thales struck, planting a hand against the king's chest. Red light exploded between them and Dimitri was sent flying.

"_NO_!" Byleth screamed. Her throat was raw and it burned when she cried out.

Dimitri did not rise from the ground.

"No," she murmured faintly. Only half-risen, she heard Thales's footsteps approach her.

A cold hand grasped her jaw and lifted her up so that she was practically dangling in his grip. He wrenched her face towards him so she stared into his dark eyes. He was smiling.

"Goodbye Fell Star," he said simply.

Byleth grabbed the front of his robes and closed her eyes. Sothis's radiant power, the power that had been suppressed by the Crest Stone inside of her since their merging, exploded out of Byleth, concentrating in a spear of light that burst from her palm, burying itself in Thales's chest. The mage's face slackened and his hand dropped away. The nerves in Byleth's hands burned from the excess energy and Thales's body smelt like burnt flesh.

She dropped him and staggered on her feet. She nearly collapsed immediately and her vision went completely black for half a second before she regained her balance. Power hummed inside of her as her veins literally glowed with divine light. She stood, shakily, staring down at the leader of Those Who Slither in the Dark and her light faded, leaving her lightheaded and exhausted.

Sheer, unadulterated terror raced through her chest as an icy fist closed on her unbeating heart.

"Dimitri," she breathed.

Wobbling, she sprinted to his side and pulled him into her lap. There was a boom behind her as the stone slab separating them from the rest of the underground city shattered. Byleth ignored it as she ran her hands over Dimitri's face and neck and chest.

"Dimitri, look at me," she whimpered. Her vision blurred with tears.

Dimitri inhaled slowly and raggedly. His eye opened and he noticed she was holding him. "By...leth..." he wheezed slowly.

"You're going to be okay," she said fiercely. She called to the sacred power within her and tried to heal, but there was nothing. The act of trying to summon the magic caused her vision to darken due to her weakness and she almost collapsed.

"I am sorry," Dimitri breathed.

Byleth cupped his face and shook her head. She tried to ignore how bloody he was and that her palms were sticky with blood as she held him. "You have to live," she insisted.

One of his gauntlet-bearing hands lifted and dropped weakly on top of her hands. His hands were also sticky with dark red blood. "You were radiant," he murmured.

Lingering pain pulsed in all of her joints. "Can you stand? We have to get you help."

"Byleth," he said gently. His hand guided hers down from his face to his stomach where there was a gaping hole in his amour, blackened flesh, and far, far too much blood. "I love you."

"Don't say it like you're dying," she ordered as tears rolled down her cheeks.

There were tears in Dimitri's good eye as he smiled faintly. "I'll say it as your equal then."

Byleth kissed his forehead furiously. "Why would you sacrifice yourself for me? You know what's happening to me anyways. I was already doomed."

"Maybe I'm a fool," he said quietly. "But I am a King of Beasts and I had to protect you."

His breathing shuddered. Byleth whimpered and clutched his hand tighter. She stared at the red painting both of their hands.

"I'm sorry, Dimitri," she said tearfully.

"You," he breathed slowly, "are not to blame. I have enjoyed every moment of this life with you, Beloved."

"Don't say it like you're dying," she repeated. Her voice cracked and she shook her head.

"Father," he murmured. There was a glazed look in his eye that Byleth had seen a few times in her life, but it vividly reminded her of 12 years ago when Jeralt had bled out in her arms. "Step-Mother, Glenn," he gasped.

He stared straight up like he couldn't see her. "I under...stand..."

Dimitri's chest stilled under her touch and his heartbeat faded. Byleth gathered him in her arms and pulled him so he was leaning back against her. She pressed her face into his bloody hair and exhaled shakily.

"Shambhala falls with the king and the goddess sees it completed," she whispered for only Dimitri to hear.

He didn't move or acknowledge her.

Byleth's arms tightened around him and she suppressed the sob building in her throat. She pulled the tie from his hair and smoothed it out as she held him.

"Sleep well, my beloved."

* * *

_Author's Note: Even though I've known this was coming for a long time, it was painful to write. I think replaying BL route has made it even worse tbh. _

_Stay safe and stay updated because hopefully I'll get Chapter 11 out soon. _

_\- Nicole_


	11. XI - No Rest for the Weary

XI - No Rest For the Weary

* * *

_Old Monastery Excavation Site, Garreg Mach University - 25 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

Dimitri had her pinned to the ground. He was heavy and they had landed hard when he had thrown them against the ground. A bullet splintered the wood on the crate giving them cover and they both flinched. Screams echoed around the dig site for a few seconds longer and then there was relative silence.

Byleth twisted, rolling in Dimitri's grip so that she was crouched low behind the box. She scanned the area around them quickly. Linhardt and Ignatz were pressed against a crate nearby, looking terrified. On their other side, Byleth saw Claude clutching Edelgard as they took cover behind a toppled table that was barely big enough to conceal the two of them.

He looked towards Byleth as she looked at him, hair and eyes wild and Byleth's heart thudded with fear more intensely than before. Dimitri's fingers dug into her waist suddenly as the blood pounding in her ears subsided enough that she could hear someone talking in the background.

"Come out, come out, little goddess, wherever you are," a cruel voice snarled.

Byleth's blood turned to ice. It was similar enough to the words said to her in the alley when she and Claude had been attacked.

There was a muffled shriek and Dimitri went completely rigid next to her. Byleth risked a tiny peek over their box and saw the gunman who had been dressed as a security guard standing in the centre of the room. He had a gun pressed to Annette's temple and a hand over her mouth. The tiny redhead had tears streaming down her face as she let out muffled whimpers.

"Don't make me paint the walls with her brains."

Dimitri shifted next to her and Byleth grabbed his arm before he could jump out.

"Don't!" she hissed sharply. "You'll get you both killed."

There was a loud clang as a table tipped over and then a flurry of movement. Edelgard dashed towards them, practically throwing herself on top of Dimitri and Byleth as she took cover. Claude shot to his feet and held his hands up as a second shooter pointed a gun at him. Byleth nearly jumped out after him, but Edelgard pinned her down, shaking her head furiously.

Edelgard instead nodded her head towards the crate that was a few feet in front of them. Byleth bit her lip but nodded, entangling herself from both of her former students. She moved towards it silently, careful not to scuff her foot even the tiniest bit against a loose rock.

"There doesn't need to be any more shooting," Claude said calmly.

Byleth couldn't afford to spare him a glance as she moved silently and slowly forward.

"We should just kill you now," growled the other gunman.

Byleth reached the second crate and exhaled quietly. She looked around the room. It appeared like there were a couple of historians from the museum on the far side of the room. Ignatz and Linhardt were behind cover, as were Edelgard and Dimitri, and then there was Claude and Annette. The body of one of the real security guards was on the ground, unmoving, and Byleth felt ill. In total, she counted three men with guns: two disguised as guards and one as a researcher.

"You won't," Claude countered. "Because you're here for something."

The man holding Annette sneered and Byleth tensed. "So the Almyran Princeling is not as stupid as he looks."

He pulled his hand off Annette's mouth and released her. She sprinted to the box that Ignatz and Linhardt were behind and threw herself down. Now there were three guns trained on Claude.

"You mentioned a goddess," Claude continued calmly. "You said something similar last time too." His head tilted slightly. "I may have been nearly concussed, but I don't forget a face."

With a jolt, Byleth realized why the fake security guard had unnerved her: he was one of the men who had jumped her and Claude in the alley. And apparently Claude had heard what the man had said to her then. Her fingernails cut into her palms as she curled her hands into fists.

Claude stepped towards one of the gunmen, the one furthest from Byleth. Three guns clicked as safeties were removed and bullets slid into chambers. Claude stopped walking, keeping his hands up and open.

Byleth crept around the side of the crate she was behind. Claude shifting had drawn attention and now no one was watching her part of the room. She was now just a few feet from the nearest shooter and her whole body was tight with tension. She wasn't exactly sure what she was waiting for, but she held her position silently, holding her breath.

"Now," Claude said firmly.

Byleth dove, tackling the gunman to the ground as his gun fired, blasting a hole in the stone as the shot went wide. As soon as she had lunged, Claude had gone for the one on the far side of the room, ducking the first shot and tipping a light fixture into the shooter so he dropped the weapon as he went down in a loud crash. Dimitri leapt from behind the crate and tackled the third one. There was a last blast of a gun, but he didn't hesitate, hitting the man like a linebacker and taking him down.

Edelgard sprinted to Claude, kicking the gun further away from the man and planting her heel against his face. Dimitri's tackle seemed to have incapacitated his target and Byleth ripped the gun out of the hand of the man she was pinning down. She struck him with it and he went limp below her. She stood up, holding the weapon and looked at the other three. Dimitri stood up from the ground and Claude shook out his casted arm and grinned.

"That went better than I was expecting," he admitted.

Byleth didn't waste a second. She turned to where she had spotted other people hiding. "Get out of here!" she ordered sternly.

No one hesitated, sprinting for the exit of the dig site. Adrenaline was still humming through her veins as she turned back to Edelgard and Claude to instruct them to leave as well. Before she could say anything, a stir of movement caught her attention as the man Dimitri had knocked down, shifted on the ground.

"Move!" she yelled instead, leaping towards Dimitri.

The gun went off just before she collided with him, pulling him behind another toppled table. Dimitri grunted in pain and Byleth looked at him, concerned. He had a hand pressed to his left shoulder and both his hand and sweater were quickly being stained red with blood. She ripped off her sweater and moved his hand so that he was wadding up the fabric and pressing it against the wound.

"Keep the pressure on," she instructed.

He nodded grimly. "We have to move."

Byleth looked around. She heard the gunman that had gotten up reloading and could imagine he was watching for them closely. She didn't see Edelgard or Claude. Dimitri and she had taken cover on the western side of the room, near the half-crumbled archway that led to a western chamber that had never been officially excavated.

"Byleth," a low voice hissed and her head snapped to the archway. Edelgard was there and she ducked out of sight into the tunnel quickly.

Byleth swallowed and pulled on Dimitri's right arm so that they were both in a low crouch. "The arch," she pointed out. "On three. One. Two. _Three_."

On her count, she and Dimitri broke for the archway, throwing themselves through it into an ancient, structurally unsound wind of the old monastery. Gunfire followed them but clipped harmlessly against the stone. Claude grabbed Dimitri from Byleth and hauled him forward, Edelgard grabbing Byleth.

The four of them ran forward through the dark blindly with only the sounds of the rocks beneath their feet, their heavy breathing, and the shots echoing down the chamber behind them as they ran. They ducked blindly through twisting corridors, not pausing to take stock of their position. Edelgard pulled Byleth through another crumbled arch and pressed against the wall to catch her breath.

Byleth dropped her hands to her knees and it took most of her willpower not to puke from a mix of exertion and nerves. She hadn't even stood up straight before warm arms were wrapping around her and she smelled pine and dust as Claude hugged her viciously. She curled her hands into his shirt and breathed shakily.

His nose pressed against her scalp through her hair as he trembled against her. He squeezed her hard enough that her ribs ached dully. Byleth let him hold her for a second longer before she pulled away. Claude's gaze held hers as she withdrew: green and wild and intense with so much more than she was expecting. Her breath caught.

"Fuck," Dimitri muttered as he slid down against the wall. He was still clutching Byleth's sweater to his shoulder, but the fabric was starting to colour with his blood.

"Dimitri," Edelgard gasped, lunging towards him, pressing her own hands against the bloody cloth.

Byleth stepped towards Dimitri, resting the back of her hand against his forehead lightly. He was still warm, but he had still been shot.

Claude cursed and slammed his good hand against the stone wall hard enough that dust fluttered down from above them. Byleth winced.

"Claude," she hissed quietly. "Maybe don't bash the structurally unsound ancient ruins."

He withdrew his hand, guilt flickering across his face. Edelgard shifted so she was sitting next to Dimitri so that she could keep pressure on his wound. Claude sat down across from them and Byleth was left standing by herself.

She ignored the blood on her hands and pulled her phone out of her pocket with trembling hands. She lit up the screen and tipped it around the room, trying to get a bearing on her surroundings.

What she saw took her breath away.

A few feet to her right, the hallway opened into a large chamber with surprisingly high ceilings and decorated statues. Stairs descended into darkness beyond the halo of her phone's light and a headache pulsed behind her eyes. This place was _familiar_.

"What goddess were they talking about back there?" Edelgard asked quietly, looking at Claude.

Byleth turned back to the others, listening for a moment for more gunfire, but she heard nothing. Their sprint through ancient ruins must have been enough to dissuade their attacker. Maybe the man had assumed they would be killed by a cave-in or a collapsing floor instead.

Claude looked at Byleth. "I'm not entirely sure," he confessed.

Byleth shut her eyes and dug her nails into her arm as she gripped her forearms to ground herself. "I know," she admitted. "At least, I think I do."

The trio remained silent but Byleth could feel their eyes on her in the dark.

"Legends state that the ancient goddess of Fódlan was reincarnated into a mortal form during a time of strife in the nation. Many records disagree about the accuracy of the argument, but since so much was lost in the Scorch, it will likely never be confirmed; however, some Unification historians postulate that the goddess was reborn as the Guardian of Order herself."

"The Guardian disappeared over 700 years ago," Claude pointed out.

Byleth took a deep breath. "Yes," she agreed, "but her advisor didn't. The right hand to the Guardian of Order did vanish, shortly after the Guardian's disappearance. Many say he left to search for her. He really left to remove himself from the records so that if he showed up several hundred years later, no one would bat an eye."

"Are you saying he was immortal?" Dimitri asked, sounding a little breathless.

"Imagine his surprise when he takes a position at the University founded atop the old monastery in an attempt to learn the truth of his friend's disappearance and he comes face to face with a woman who looks exactly like her."

Rocks clattered as Claude shot to his feet. "Byleth," he breathed as he started to put things together.

"Archbishop Byleth Eisner disappeared over 700 years ago after the death of her husband, the Saviour King. I imagine, if you knew him well enough, he was known as King Dimitri. They lived only 7 or 8 years after a war in which they fought with and against King Khalid of Almyra, the King of Dawn, to topple the regime of the last Adrestian Emperor, Emperor Edelgard," Byleth continued.

She had learned as much from a combination of her studies on the Unification Era as well as asking Seteth questions since he revealed the truth to her.

"You're saying," Edelgard said, sounding shocked, "that we are the same people that fought in the unifying war of Fódlan?"

"Divine intervention in the form of reincarnation," Byleth said, not quite believing the words herself. "That is what Seteth says anyways."

Claude stepped closer to her until she could see his features in the gloom. His brow was furrowed and he had a small frown on his face. It was an expression he made when he was focussing intently on something and trying to figure out a particularly challenging topic.

"So those men who are looking for a goddess, they're looking for you?"

Byleth curled her arms around herself. "I believe so," she said.

"And these ruins, why would Seteth want to come here?"

"He believed that they might hide the truth of what really happened to the last King of Fódlan and to the Guardian," she answered. She glanced over her shoulder towards where the dark room opened up. "I think he might be right."

Claude let out a disbelieving breath. He strode past her towards the open room. "How long have you known?"

She considered the question. "Since the bombing," she decided. That was when she had learned about Seteth and Flayn and really had figured out that something strange was happening. Her odd dreams and visions may have been clues, but there had been nothing concrete until the day of the parliament bombing.

In the dark corridor, Byleth studied her friends. Dimitri was staring at Edelgard's hands pressed over his shoulder with a pensive look on his face. Edelgard was staring at the wall beside Dimitri's head, frowning. Claude was facing away from her, staring into the open chamber.

She approached him. "Claude?"

"What is this place?" he asked.

Where they stood, Byleth could see that steps descending to a lower level of the large room. Ornate statues and pillars decorated the room, but it looked eerily like a tomb of sorts. Byleth's eyes caught on the dais on the far side of the room and the breath left her lungs. She stepped forward again, to the edge of the upper level and stared across the room in awe at the throne from her dreams.

"I hear shouting," Dimitri called from behind them. Byleth turned and saw that both he and Edelgard were staring back the way they'd come, heads tipped like they were listening.

"It sounds like our names," Edelgard agreed. "They must be looking for us."

Byleth looked back at the throne, torn. They obviously needed to leave the ruins, but this throne was the one she had been seeing in her dreams for months. A part of her _needed _to know what it was and why she was so drawn to it.

"Byleth?" Claude questioned. He stepped up next to her and followed her gaze, exhaling slowly in awe. "Is that?"

"Yes," she whispered.

She gave herself one more moment to stare before she shook her head. She placed a hand on Claude's elbow.

"We should get out of here while we can," she said.

His face turned towards her and she saw the curious, stubborn spark glinting in his eyes. He wanted to stay just as much as she did, but they both knew it was a bad idea. She couldn't seem to break the eye contact between them to walk away, it was like there was something magnetic between them that kept drawing her in.

A low rumble of stone above them had them both snapping their heads back towards Dimitri and Edelgard. Their friends had heard the sound too and Edelgard had walked a few feet towards them, standing just on the other side of the archway.

"What's that noise?" Edelgard asked.

The stone creaked louder and Byleth's eyes widened. "Edelgard, step back. Now," she ordered sternly. Byleth's hand slid into Claude's without thinking and she pulled him towards the arch.

Edelgard backed up as Claude and Byleth approached. They got almost all the way there before there was a loud snapping noise and a boom as the supporting rocks of the archway gave way. Dust and stone rained down, filling the arch and effectively splitting the four of them and sealing Byleth and Claude inside the strange tomb-like room.

Byleth immediately dropped Claude's hand and sprinted to the rocks. "Edelgard! Are you guys alright?"

Through the rock barricade, Edelgard's voice came back, muffed. "We're fine! Are you guys okay?"

Byleth glanced at Claude who looked as startled as she did, but uninjured, thankfully. "Yes, we just seem to be trapped."

"Should we try to move some rocks?" Dimitri asked, sounding a bit further back than Edelgard had.

"Absolutely not," Byleth said firmly. "Dimitri, you need medical attention for your shoulder. Edelgard, you have to get him out of here. Direct someone else here. We'll be fine for now."

"Are you sure?" Edelgard called.

"Yes. Get Dimitri help first. That's the first priority."

"Okay," she replied.

There was some shuffling on the other side and she heard Edelgard and Dimitri talking in low tones before she heard footsteps receding down the corridor. Byleth stepped away from the caved-in rocks and rubbed her face with her hands.

"By?" Claude questioned. He touched her elbow lightly and she dropped her hands, feeling suddenly tired. "You okay?"

"I don't know," she said miserably. "Do you hate me?"

He blinked. "For what?"

"For not telling you sooner."

Claude's hand tightened on her arm and he slid it down so he was holding her hand again. "No. This couldn't have been easy to process and," he winced, "I haven't exactly been the easiest person for you to talk to recently."

Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth and she didn't know what to say. Claude understood her apparent internal struggle and he stepped a bit further out of her personal space, but he didn't let go of her hand.

"We've got some time before they get these rocks cleared," he noted absently.

Byleth glanced across the room at the shadowed throne. "Do you think we should," she trailed off, not finishing the question.

The familiar trickster smile slid onto Claude's face. "Absolutely not, but we're going to do it anyway."

Pulling her by the hand, he led her down the stairs to the lower level. Byleth marvelled at the intricate carvings in the stone and the beautiful but broken and ancient architecture of the chamber.

"How could a place like this have fallen to such disarray?" she questioned.

Claude looked as spellbound as she felt as he studied the room alongside her. "I have no idea, but then again, I have no idea how you Fódlani people let so much of your history burn and get destroyed without preserving it."

Byleth finally dropped Claude's hands to examine what looked like a stone coffin. She ran her hands over the ancient Fódlani runes and wished that she could translate them. This wasn't Old Fódlani, like most of the Unification Era stuff was. This was ancient, probably from centuries before the Unification War.

"I wish we had more time," she breathed as she traced her fingers through a mark that was shaped a bit like an eye with wings below it.

"The throne has that mark you've been drawing," Claude called.

Byleth looked up. He was standing at the base of the dais, staring at the mysterious throne. He was mostly a silhouette in the dark and something about seeing him standing there caused her head to ache. She straightened up and walked over to stand next to him. The throne was as imposing and wondrous as she had dreamed it and she had never even imagined that it had been this close all along.

Byleth stepped onto the dais and tentatively laid her fingers on the arm of the throne. She brushed aside several hundred years worth of dust until she was touching the marble beneath it. Against the backrest of the throne was the carving of the strange twisting sigil that she had found during the dig and seen in her vision.

She leaned forward and gently touched it, letting her fingers land in the grooves of the loops and curves of the mark. As soon as she touched it, the sigil ignited with a bright, greenish-white light. Byleth flinched away from the sudden brightness, but she didn't remove her fingers. The sigil grew warm beneath her fingers and she heard a rumble of stone come from behind the throne.

"Byleth?" Claude called out.

She withdrew her hand from the sigil. The bright light dimmed until the symbol was just barely glowing. Claude stood next to her and stared at it, brow raised.

"That's different," he said idly.

Byleth stepped around the throne and spotted where the grinding stone noises had come from. A square panel about five foot by five foot had slid aside to reveal a staircase that descended into darkness.

"Claude," she called, beckoning him over.

He stared at the opening in the floor. "I have a funny feeling that this wouldn't have reacted this way for me."

Byleth felt a bit uncomfortable at his words, not because she disagreed, but rather because she knew he was right. All of her dreams and visions had only led her as far as the throne so she had no idea what to do now.

"Do you want to go down there?" Claude asked, glancing at her.

He had pulled out his phone and was using its flashlight to illuminate the stairs. Byleth swallowed hard and wiped her palms on her jeans. The history and archaeology major parts of her desperately wanted to descend the steps while the rational part of her wanted to walk away back to the caved-in arch and wait for someone to come to dig them out.

"Yes," she said faintly.

It took her a second to realize she had replied, but Claude stepped onto the first step, pointing his flashlight down the stairs so they didn't fall. He held out his left arm, the one with the cast and Byleth linked her arm through his. Together, they descended into the dark.

* * *

_Hidden Tomb, Old Monastery - 25 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

The stairs were dark and they both almost tripped a few times, even with the help of Claude's flashlight. The stairs opened up into another chamber, but this one was much, much smaller. There were no ornate statues or carvings, just two stone coffins and a stone altar in between them.

Byleth approached the coffin on the right, tugging Claude along so that she had light. The coffins were spotless marble creations with not even the slightest bit of dust. She tentatively reached out and ran the pad of her index finger along the top of the lid. Instantly, a dim green light started to glow from a rune carved at the top of the coffin. Byleth followed the light and found a faintly glowing sigil that looked like a series of four lightning bolts.

She turned to the one on the left and touched it. As expected, a faint glow emanated from a rune in the same position on the coffin lid. This one was instead the looped sigil from her dreams and from the throne. Her breath caught as she stroked the smooth marble of the coffin.

"Claude," she whispered breathlessly. "These are," she trailed off, both shocked and in awe.

"By," he said, beckoning her to the altar between the two.

She turned and saw that he was studying the object on top of the altar: a leather-bound journal.

"Oh my god," she gasped. "How has it survived down here?"

Claude shook his head. "Maybe it'll crumble to dust as soon as we open it."

"I doubt it," she countered. She reached out for it and then hesitated.

Claude glanced at her. "Byleth?"

She curled her hand into a fist and let it hover lamely above the journal. "I'm so afraid."

Claude rested the arm in the cast along her back. He angled the flashlight so that she could see the journal if she did open it. "Don't be," he assured. "I'm pretty sure you were literally born for this."

She smiled faintly and tipped open the front cover. The first page was blank. She carefully picked up the page to flip it and was astonished by the preserved quality of the paper. She turned the page slowly and the first line of the journal caused her to pause and rest her fingers against the page.

"To the next bearer of the Crest of Flames," she translated as she read the old Fódlani.

"I write to you as a friend," Claude continued. She stole a glance at him and saw that his brow was furrowed.

"Teach always said I didn't have it in me, but I couldn't let them down now. Lysithea–" Byleth's breath caught at the name, "–says that this preservation will last."

Her eyes flicked ahead of her reading and the words died in her throat.

"Let it be known the true story of the last King of Faerghus and the beloved Archbishop as told by a friend, Khalid von Riegan, of Almyra," Claude translated quietly, finishing the text on the first page of the journal.

"This is it, then," Byleth said, touching the book almost reverently. "The truth of it all is here."

She looked between the two coffins with their glowing Crests. She closed the book and hesitated with her hand on the spine.

"It feels almost wrong, doesn't it?" she asked.

"To stand between their graves and read about their deaths?" Claude replied.

"To disturb their peace," Byleth corrected.

Claude pocketed his phone and then curled his hand over Byleth's on the book. "He wouldn't have written it if it wasn't meant to be read."

Claude was right, so Byleth pushed away the last of her doubt and lifted the book off the altar.

* * *

_Garreg Mach Monastery - 19 Harpstring Moon, 7 AU_

Byleth was tired of wearing white. She was tired of wearing white and wearing black and wearing veils and staring at the stone floors of the monastery and the palace instead of into the faces of her friends.

She couldn't look at them. Every time she looked at them she saw pity and pain and grief and all the horrible things she had been feeling for the last several weeks.

As a young woman, Byleth had wished for the ability to emote like her students and colleagues could. She never imagined she might one day wish to lose the ability to feel again.

It didn't help that people were treating her like she might still break and disappear entirely. No matter how weak she was, she was still the leader of the Church of Seiros and she was tired of being treated like a child.

She was tired a lot these days.

Whatever Thales had done to torture her in Shambhala before Dimitri had attacked him had done something to the Crest Stone inside of her. Byleth's body was rapidly deteriorating and even the simplest acts of magic, like summoning fire to light a candle, left her with burnt fingertips and a sense of exhaustion.

Twenty-two days after Dimitri died, Byleth awoke in her chambers alone and stared at the ceiling in her room. She had letters on her desk to send to the cabinet in Fhirdiad and to her former students–now subjects–who were scattered across Fódlan.

She laid silently in bed for a moment and felt the painful hum of blood in her veins and the relentless exhaustion that plagued her.

"I'm dying," she whispered to her ceiling.

She sat up and mailed all of the letters that day.

* * *

_Fhirdiad Royal Palace - 1 Garland Moon, 7 AU_

The cabinet was furious at her. Many of the minor nobles were protesting the announcements. The commoners were celebrating the declaration. There were simultaneous riots and celebrations in the streets of the city, but Byleth was still wearing black.

She stood in the council chamber of the Royal Palace, a place she had frequented too often since her return to the capital after she sent all of her letters, surrounded by her former students who were now Dukes and Margraves and Queens and leaders and teachers. They had all done as she had requested–brought to her the weapons they inherited for the terrible war that started 12 years ago.

"Thank you," she said to the room. "This cannot be easy for all of you."

"On the contrary," Lorenz countered, "this is the simple part."

"Yes," Ingrid agreed. "There are no needs for tools of war in times of peace."

"Then you agree with our decision?" Byleth asked curiously. She lifted her gaze from the wooden table and skimmed it over the gathered former students.

"Of course we do," Annette assured. "They'll make a wonderful historical display."

"Shouldn't you want them at the Monastery?" Claude asked from where he stood at the far end of the table.

He was dressed in the finery of a King and it made Byleth's chest hurt because she could only think of Dimitri and Edelgard when she looked at him.

"No," Byleth assured. "Fhirdiad remains the capital of Fódlan, so the Relics will stay here."

No one had the guts to argue that it was because she wanted them as far away from her as possible due to the painful reminder her late husband's lance brought her.

"I think we're done here then," Claude said, almost brightly. "I believe I am owed tea, Your Grace, before we all return home."

Byleth was grateful to Claude. He didn't treat her like she was fragile even though she desperately, definitely was. He just offered her his arm and escorted her to a courtyard where they could take tea like two old friends.

Byleth brewed a pot of Almyran Pine, just like she had done so many times at the academy for them. Claude added two scoops of sugar to her tea and four drops of honey to his. Byleth poured and Claude lifted his cup to tap it politely against hers as they took their first sips.

Byleth sipped her tea and Claude looked at her over the top of his teacup. "He would be proud of you."

She smiled faintly as her chest twinged with sadness. "I know," she assured.

Claude sipped his tea. "How long had you two been planning to dissolve the monarchy? It was brilliantly done, if I may say, to leave the country still in the hands of its saviours. I imagine Dimitri would have stayed on to lead if he was here."

"That was the intention, yes," she acknowledged, answering the second half of his inquiry first. "And, I suppose the idea became real to us once we knew that we could not conceive."

"What will you do now?"

Byleth paused and placed the teacup down. "I hadn't quite thought that far ahead," she admitted. _I hadn't planned on living this long_, she added to herself.

"You could travel," he suggested lightly.

Byleth laughed. "I could," she agreed. She thought about it for a moment. "I've never been to Almyra."

Claude raised an eyebrow. "All these visits I paid you, my friend, and you've never been to visit me? Perhaps we ought to change that."

A sudden, and familiar, burning pain sparked in her hand and she dropped the teacup suddenly, the china shattering. Byleth frowned and studied her hand. Her fingertips were burnt black inexplicably and it burned to move any of the muscles in her hand. She was suddenly much more tired than she felt before.

"Byleth?" Claude prodded. "Are you alright?"

She looked between him and her burned fingers. "I'm dying," she replied bluntly.

Claude's eyebrows rose, but he concealed most of his surprise well. "Aren't we all?"

"I'm actively burning from the inside out with holy power. I'm not so sure it's the same for everyone."

He paused. "No," he conceded. "Is it curable?"

"No," she replied. She carefully began picking through the broken china shards to collect them on her saucer so it could be disposed of cleanly.

"Is it painful?"

Her first instinct was to lie and say that it was nothing, but the intelligence in his green eyes told her he would know if she lied to him.

"Yes," she replied softly. "I'm burning to death slowly."

"How much longer do you have?"

She pressed her lips together and forced away another lie. "I did not plan on returning to the monastery again."

That seemed to finally catch him off-guard enough that his surprise showed in the tightening of his shoulders and the parting of his lips. "And what of Dimitri?"

Byleth closed her eyes. "He is dead, Claude, so I don't see what it matters."

Claude touched one of her hands and she peeked out from under her lashes at him. "He matters to you," he corrected gently. "Surely if you're this short on time, you'd rather die near him?"

"There's not enough time now," she said, but the idea was certainly enticing.

"You forget that I have broken several wyvern speed records and could probably have you back in a day."

She studied his face. He looked dead serious. "Could you really?"

"We can always try, right? As long as you won't burn us both out of the sky on the way back."

She looked at her now-blistering fingertips. "No promises."

* * *

_Holy Tomb, Garreg Mach Monastery - 3 Garland Moon, 7 AU_

Byleth led Claude through the Holy Tomb. They were both exhausted, having flown through the night to make it back to the monastery. Byleth had spent the whole day before saying her goodbyes to former students.

She was going to Almyra with Claude for a while. She just needed to be out of Fódlan for some time before she returned. Those were the lies she fed her friends so that she could get her goodbyes and not leave them entirely blindsided by the truth when it inevitably came out. The hugs she had received from them and the respectful nods and the cheek kisses lingered with her as she walked through the cold chambers hidden below the monastery.

The public believed that their faithful king was buried in Fhirdiad. Only the Blue Lions and Claude and Lysithea and Linhardt knew the truth: Dimitri was entombed below Garreg Mach in a chamber that Lysithea and Linhardt had worked hard to ensure that it would be magically sealed, keeping the tomb in pristine condition even for centuries.

Besides the creators, Byleth was the only one who had been down there to visit her husband since the Blue Lions had said their last goodbyes in a private, heartbreaking ceremony. It was strange to bring Claude down, but she had one last task to ask of him.

The two of them stopped in front of the throne as they studied it.

"I used to think that this would answer all of my questions and solve all of my problems," Byleth confessed softly.

"And now?"

"Now it is a monument to everything that I have lost." Byleth closed her eyes. "My father and Sothis and now Dimitri."

She conjured the image of her Crest in her palm and the Crest of Flames spun idly. It emanated just enough heat that her palm warmed where it hovered. Claude studied her.

"Is it not a monument to your accomplishments as well?"

Byleth smiled and shook her head. She pulled her sword free from her hip and studied the blade: its bone-like structure and biting edge had been her ruthless companion on the battlefield for eight and a half years. While she had left all the other Relics back in Fhirdiad to be displayed in the Archives or in a museum, she had carried her blade back with her to have a different final resting place.

She stepped forward and laid it flat across the arms of the throne so it balanced above the seat.

"The greatest monument to my victories are the cities we rebuilt and the memories we shared through the time we've all known each other."

"You're awfully young to be waxing poetic like you are."

Byleth glanced back at him, smoothing some of her hair away from her face. "Soul of an immortal goddess, remember?"

Claude tipped his head to the side. "And you're okay with this? With just fading to nothing after all this time? The Lions are going to be distraught when they realize that those were their last goodbyes with you."

"You were going to write about it, weren't you?" she prompted.

"You said you didn't think I had it in me."

She hummed. "Maybe you do, maybe you don't. But, Claude," she looked at him more seriously, "when you tell our story, tell the happy parts."

He crossed his arms. "Leave out the war and the death and the pain and the grief?"

"No, of course not, but highlight the love and the celebration and the family we all found within each other. Tell them how relationships won the war and built a new Fódlan that was united and better and tell them how we loved each other."

"Am I just supposed to leave you here to slowly and painfully burn from the inside out before you seal yourself behind that door?" Claude stepped closer to her.

Byleth hesitated. That had been her intention, but Claude looked saddened at the thought. "I had intended for that, yes."

He reached for her hand and she gave it to him. His fingers were nimble and calloused from years of archery and they didn't quite fit in her hand as well as Dimitri's had. They were almost too similar to her own. He pressed a small glass vial into her palm and curled her fingers around it before he retracted his hand.

"It'll be painless this way," he suggested quietly.

Byleth caught the tiniest crack in his voice and she cupped the vial against her chest. She felt tears burn in her own eyes at the thoughtfulness of the action and the strength it was taking from him to have brought her here and to be willing to leave her to die after all of that.

"I'll see you again, Claude," she said.

His own eyes are glassy with unshed tears when they lock with hers. "How can you say that?"

Byleth tapped the arm of the throne. "Soul of an immortal goddess, remember?" she repeated lightly. Claude's grief didn't lighten and her faint smile dropped a bit. "I believe in reincarnation and fate," she said instead. "I believe that the goddess isn't done with our stories yet." She looked behind her to where the stairs would lead to the hidden tomb. "With any of our stories."

"Reincarnation, huh? There are some legends about that in Almyra. Not sure I ever took much stock in it," he mused.

Byleth smiled gently. "If you do write us down, Lysithea can bypass the seal to the tomb."

"Right."

They were out of things to say and the burning in Byleth's chest was intensifying again. She stepped back towards Claude and drew him into a hug. It wasn't the first time she had hugged him, but the action was certainly rare.

"Thank you, my friend," she said quietly as she withdrew.

A tear rolled down her cheek and a matching one slipped from his eye. He nodded and swallowed hard, like there was a heavy lump in his throat. Claude stepped away from her and backed up, keeping his eyes on her.

He walked a few paces backwards before he turned and began crossing the tomb in earnest. Byleth lowered herself to sit on the steps of the dais as she watched him walk away. A tiny, terrified part of her wanted him to stay and hold her hand as she drank his deadly poison so that she didn't have to be alone when she died. The rest of her wanted him to leave so he could keep this as his last memory of her: alive and vibrant.

She rolled the tiny glass vial between her fingers and breathed through the burning pain in her chest. Dimitri's tomb was below her, sealed by magic, and her own was waiting for her.

"I'll see you again," she said to the empty chamber. "This place, these faces, all of it."

She stood up and lifted the vial so it caught a glimmer of torchlight. A fire ignited in her stomach and began to slowly spread burning pain through the rest of her body.

"I'll stand here again, fate assures that."

* * *

_Author's Note: Oh man. Oh man oh boy oh man oh boy. _

_Part XII/Epilogue to come soon. _

_I'm on Tumblr (nicolewrites)._

_\- Nicole_


	12. XII - Guardian of Order, Keeper of Truth

XII - Guardian of Order, Keeper of Truth

* * *

_Sealed Ruins, Old Monastery - 25 Lone Moon, 733 AU_

Byleth held the journal close to her chest as they crossed back to the caved-in entrance. She paused at the stairs and glanced at Claude. He hadn't said much since they had left the secret tomb, but she had felt him eyeing both her and the journal curiously.

She grabbed his hand before he could climb the stairs. "Claude," she said softly.

He looked at her and Byleth's heart twisted in her chest. She was holding the answers to almost all of her questions in her hands, but her mind was stuck on the way he looked at her and the ghost of his lips against hers. A lump welled in her throat and she felt suddenly selfish and shy. She knitted their fingers together fully and Claude glanced wordlessly at their joined hands.

Byleth rocked forward on her toes and there was a moment where they almost came together before a muffled shout had them jerking apart. Byleth dropped Claude's hand like she had been shocked and raced up the stairs to the cave-in.

"Seteth!" she called out.

"Byleth! Thank Sothis! Where on earth have you been? We've been calling for you for fifteen minutes. Edelgard said you've been back here for nearly an hour," her advisor said from the other side of the stone. He sounded exhausted and truly relieved to hear that she was okay.

Guilt twisted in her stomach. She and Claude had been selfish in searching the ruins instead of waiting for rescue, but now that she was clutching the journal to her chest, she couldn't find it in herself to regret her actions.

"Are you both alright? They're going to work on clearing this blockade shortly and we'll get you out of there," Seteth continued.

Byleth glanced behind her. Claude had followed her up the stairs and he was just approaching her. "We're safe," she assured Seteth. "And," she glanced behind Claude to the hidden tomb and then at the journal she was holding, "Seteth, I found them."

There was a moment of stunned silence and Claude stepped next to her, tucking his good arm around her shoulders and squeezing briefly. Byleth held her breath. Seteth had said he wanted to know what had happened to the people he had known hundreds of years ago, but she honestly wasn't sure what to expect from him.

"Found who?" came her advisor's breathless reply after a moment.

"The Guardian and the King. They're buried down here."

Seteth laughed airly and Byleth relaxed against Claude's touch. "Of course they are," Seteth murmured. "I shouldn't have expected anything less from her."

"Not that this isn't all exciting and crazy," Claude cut in gently, "but, what happened to the shooters? Is everyone okay?"

"Dimitri!" Byleth gasped. "Is he okay? Did everyone else get out okay?"

"Yes," Seteth said reassuringly. "Last I heard, Dimitri was en route to the hospital for minor surgery and stitches. He should be fine. Everyone else managed to get out with very few injuries."

Byleth looked at Claude. He looked like he had aged years since they had first descended into the strange tomb. She twisted against him and raised a hand to his shoulder. His gaze dropped to hers quickly and it softened from wary fear to a bone-deep weariness that she understood. His left hand awkwardly scooped her hand off his shoulder and he brought it to his mouth, pressing a feather-light kiss to her palm.

Byleth smiled faintly and pressed her palm to his cheek, running her thumb across his warm skin. She nearly forgot about Seteth and the dig and the chaos for a moment until Claude broke their eye contact, his eyes straying back to the caved-in rock.

"The shooters? What happened to them?" he asked.

"Arrested," Seteth said. His tone was sharp and almost disgusted. "A group of terrorists trying to further destabilize Fódlan by going after children of politicians after an attack on Parliament."

Claude's arm around her shoulder suddenly felt like it was burning her. Byleth dropped her hand from his face and worriedly pressed her thumb to her bottom lip as she wrestled with how much to tell Seteth.

"That's not what they were doing here," Claude replied slowly, making the decision for her.

Byleth sighed. "No," she agreed. "Seteth, they were here for me. They said something about a goddess. I think they think that I'm the same goddess as back then."

Seteth was quiet for a moment. "I see," he said before Byleth could try to take back her words. "I'll handle it."

"Handle it?"

"Byleth, I've handled these things for hundreds of years. Trust me, and I will take care of it," Seteth continued.

Byleth relaxed a bit. "I suppose." She glanced at the journal she was clutching. "There's more to show you," she began, but he cut her off.

"Let's continue this conversation when we're not separated by a foot of solid rock and all breathing in unhealthy amounts of dust, shall we?"

Claude chuckled and she could practically feel the laugh in his chest. She smiled to herself and tapped her thumb on the cover of the journal.

"Yeah," she agreed.

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 12 Great Tree Moon, 733 AU_

Byleth knocked on the doorframe before she stepped inside the office. The shelves were almost completely bare and there was only a single frame left on the wall. Byleth ran her fingers over the back of one of the visitor's chairs as she waited to be addressed.

Seteth placed a framed photo of Flayn into the half-packed box on the desk and looked up at her. "You made it," he greeted warmly.

Byleth nodded. "And you're really leaving, aren't you?"

Seteth's normally hard green eyes softened. "Once you get the official transcriptions released, there will be too many questions. It's better for us to just disappear now." He paused, tapping his palm against the top of the cardboard box. "There's another thing that we should deal with as well."

Byleth pursed her lips. "And you still won't tell me what that means, will you?"

Seteth smiled faintly. "It's not for you to worry about. You have a Master's thesis to write and then you'll have a Ph.D. to defend."

"It'll be hard to write a Master's without a supervisor," she pointed out.

Seteth shook his head. "I appreciate the effort, Byleth, but any professor in the archaeology or history departments would happily take you on. Besides, Harriet and James are staying on in the lab so you'll have connections with them too."

He sat down in his worn office chair and gestured to the chair she was holding the back of. Byleth relinquished her grip and slid into the chair. She had sat in this office across the desk from him many, many times in both her undergraduate years as well as over the course of her first year of her Master's.

"Seteth," Byleth began slowly. "Do you think that my father knew?"

Seteth pursed his lips, considering the question. "Considering the fact that he pulled out of the previous dig project as quickly as he did, I have a feeling he may have figured some things out. He never treated myself or Flayn differently, but you figured it out, and your father was always just as sharp as you were."

Byleth thought about the way that Jeralt had acted after he had withdrawn from the dig. He had been secretive and almost unnerved, but he had never wavered in his protective treatment of her. She hadn't thought much of it back then. If he knew, it made sense with what she remembered. Suddenly uncomfortable thinking about her deceased father, she changed the subject.

"It's going to be hard to see someone else take your office. You're leaving awfully big shoes to fill, you know," she commented, tapping her knuckles against the oak desk between them.

Seteth smiled fondly. "Maybe you'll find yourself sitting on this side someday."

"I don't know if I'd like teaching," she admitted.

Seteth laughed. "Well, from how well you taught as the TA and as the undergrad program leader, I think you'd make an excellent teacher."

Byleth's lips twisted into a small smile. "Maybe," she assented.

"She was a teacher one time too," he said. "Before she was a general and an archbishop, she was their teacher."

She looked up curiously. The translated pages of the Almyran King's journal had made reference to the ancient Officer's Academy a few times, but he hadn't mentioned that the Guardian had been the professor for himself and the Saviour King.

"I had my doubts about her when she first started, but she was the finest professor we ever had at the Officer's Academy, age be damned." There was a wistful glimmer in Seteth's eyes as he recounted his feelings from hundreds of years ago.

Byleth's stomach turned as she remembered the guilt on his face when he had admitted to her that he didn't know what had truly happened to the pair since he hadn't been on good terms with the Archbishop in the end.

"I've read most of it now," she said. Seteth raised an eyebrow. "She spoke highly of you, right to the end. You shouldn't feel guilty about how it was left between you."

He sighed. "It's hard not too," he confessed, "but, hearing you say that helps." He made eye contact with her and Byleth felt for a moment like he was picking her apart, bit by bit. "Flayn and I still miss them dearly: both of the Kings and the Archbishop and all of the others. It's funny that even almost eight hundred years later and the wound hasn't hardly begun to heal."

"Do I make it worse or better?"

"Both," he said. "It's hard to look at you and to see her face, but it is reassuring to look at you and know that everything she suffered wasn't for nothing. Her bloodline lives on in you and I think she would be glad to know that."

"I still dream about her and her life," Byleth said suddenly. "For some reason, I thought it might stop once I had all of this figured out."

Seteth's head tipped curiously as he studied her. "You don't have to become her, Byleth. In fact, you shouldn't. As great of a leader and teacher and friend as she was, she suffered horribly in her life, as did so many of her companions. I think that you, and those around you, are here to be your own people and to live in this world they fought for without a war. That's what she would have wanted."

"A life without war sounds nice," she mumbled.

"There is no diminishing the pain that has existed in your life, Byleth, but as a man who has lived too many lifetimes, you have to take extra care of the things that matter and the things that make you _feel_. Those are the things that you will be glad to have experienced."

"Would she have wanted me to share everything? Some people have been arguing that since all this disappeared in the Scorch and the Riots that maybe it was supposed to stay lost."

Seteth laughed. "She was stubborn and private, but I think she'd want her story out there. They called her the Guardian of Order in her time for her honesty and her commitment to peace and rebuilding a better Fódlan. I can't think of a better keeper of that knowledge and I think she would be happy to have it shared in the end."

Seteth stood up from the seat and closed the flaps on the box on his desk. He studied his almost empty office with a fond look and his gaze landed on Byleth warmly.

"I was grateful to have known you centuries ago. I am honoured to have known you for a second time, Byleth Eisner."

* * *

_Garreg Mach University - 28 Great Tree Moon, 733 AU_

Byleth was taking notes on a set of scanned pages from the journal when a cough caught her attention. She placed her pen down and looked up, seeing who had disturbed her work in the lab.

Edelgard and Dimitri stood before her, smiling as they took in the papers pinned to almost every surface and the chaotic organization of her workspace in the lab. Byleth quickly pulled her hair up into a ponytail and stood up from her chair. She twisted her head to work out the stiffness in her neck that was developing after hours of sitting and smiled at her former students.

"I didn't know you guys were still around," Byleth said in lieu of a greeting.

Dimitri laughed. "Last exams of our undergraduate degrees were today. It's strange to think about."

"Yes," Edelgard agreed. "This place was our home for four years. It will be strange not to come back in the Horsebow Moon."

Byleth raised an eyebrow. "Have you decided on where you're headed then?"

The pair exchanged a look and wary smiles. Edelgard nodded to Byleth. "We're actually both headed to Fhirdiad in a couple of hours."

"Jumping into politics?" she teased. Edelgard shrugged and Byleth's brow shot up. "That was mostly sarcastic. I knew you studied Political Science, Edelgard, but, Dimitri, aren't you a business major?"

"Business Major with a Politics and International Relations Minor," Dimitri added. "So, we thought we might take a crack at getting whatever remains of our fathers' parties to get along."

Byleth's eyes flickered to Edelgard's face, but the other woman seemed fairly composed. Edelgard's father had died still very recently, but it had come up between them before and Edelgard had assured Byleth that she had never been particularly close to her father since he was always so busy. Still, Byleth understood what it meant to lose a parent suddenly and violently.

She smiled at the two of them. "Well, with all things considered, I have a feeling you'll be good at that."

Edelgard studied one of the pinned up journal pages for a moment. "With everything we've learned recently, it feels like the least we can do is make sure this country keeps moving forward."

Byleth nodded. "How are you guys feeling about this?" She gestured to the chaos around the lab.

Dimitri shifted, scanning over a bulletin board which was covered in translation notes and Byleth's own notes. "It's strange," he admitted tentatively, "but we're different people."

"Right," Edelgard agreed. "It's one thing to think of ourselves as copies of them, but that's not true. We're fairly disconnected, especially since we didn't know hardly anything about the past. I think it as it stands, the best thing we can do is respect the past and honour the truth."

"Honour the truth," Byleth repeated. She smiled. "I like that idea."

"Oh!" Dimitri exclaimed. "That reminds me. We came here to give you something." He slid his bag off his shoulder and rummaged through it until he pulled out what appeared to be a wrapped picture frame.

Edelgard took it from Dimitri and handed it to Byleth. "From all of us," she explained.

Byleth broke the tape on the blue wrapping paper with her fingernail and peeled the paper away. There was a card in an envelope that she placed onto her desk as she pulled the picture frame free of the paper.

The frame was a simple frame made of dark cherry wood. It had a stand on the back so it could be displayed on a table. Byleth almost teared up when she saw the photo in the frame. It was the eight undergraduates from the dig team all squeezed together from the last day on site. It was the photo she had taken before everything had gone to hell, but she was happy to see that the photo had turned out well.

"We wanted to thank you," Dimitri explained. "As crazy as this last term has been, we all immensely enjoyed our experience with the project and that's largely due to you, Byleth."

She laughed and placed the photo down. She reached out to pull Edelgard and Dimitri into a hug. "You all had better come back and visit me. I loved working with you all too."

Edelgard squeezed her back and tapped against the sealed card that Byleth had put down. "Everyone wrote something personal in the card. We figured this was a nice way to thank you for all the work you put into helping and teaching us."

"I love it," Byleth assured.

She dropped the hug and picked the card up. She used a pen off her desk to tear the envelope neatly along the crease and slid out the card. It was a hand-painted image of the History building on campus and Byleth touched it reverently.

"Ignatz," Dimitri explained. "He insisted."

She smiled and opened the card. Annette's bubbly handwriting was the first thing that caught her expression, but it was closely followed by Ignatz's artful script. There was the slightly messy slanted writing that belonged to Linhardt and Lysithea's almost typewriter-esque printing and Ingrid's smooth cursive. Edelgard had squeezed her message in the bottom left corner and Dimitri had taken the bottom right.

She hesitated when she spotted Claude's message. It was simple: "Thanks for the memories and for putting up with our chaos, Teach. Till next time, my friend. It has been a pleasure. Claude."

She knew his writing almost as well as she knew her own. Half of the pages around the lab had his notes on them as well. He had been a consistent visitor to her workspace for the first few weeks, but since she had had her final meeting with Seteth at the start of the exam period, she had hardly heard from Claude. Her heart and head were still twisted and muddled from what had transpired on-site and off-site and while they had been stranded in the tomb, but she wanted to talk to him about it.

She lifted her eyes from the card and looked at Edelgard and Dimitri. "Is Claude around?" she asked casually.

Edelgard's brows twitched into a frown and Dimitri's cheeks hollowed as he inhaled. Dimitri's large shoulders lowered in what Byleth recognized as a muted form of pity and she turned away, sliding the card back into its envelope quickly.

"He went home to Jodat last week," Edelgard admitted after a moment. "I know he hasn't moved out of the Golden Deer House yet though, so I'm sure he'll be back."

"Yeah," Byleth agreed. Her heart twisted in disappointment.

He hadn't even come to say good-bye to her.

* * *

_Garreg Mach University_ _\- 15 Verdant Rain Moon, 733 AU_

The TV in the lab was jabbering on about some big political announcement as Byleth adjusted the dish she was looking at with her lens. It was nice to take a break from thousands of pages of disputed translation notes and abstract history to catalogue and study some of the smaller pieces that were recovered during the main part of Seteth's expedition.

Harriet and James were both not in today, leaving Byleth to have the lab to herself. She liked being alone while she worked. She could hum under her breath or read aloud as she tried to compile the most precise version of the Almyran King's old journal.

Six different translators had created what they claimed to be the most accurate translation of the journal, but as she combed through them, there were dozens upon dozens of different interpretations of the old Fódlani language. Byleth herself had created a translation, but having read the works of other translators, she was quick to admit some of her own translations were incorrect. It was exhausting to piece together, but it was exciting all the same.

She placed her magnifying lens down on the lab bench and glanced up at the TV to see what kind of story was being told now. To her surprise, it appeared to be a summary of a recent Almyran broadcast.

Byleth fumbled for the remote and was about to turn the volume up so she could hear it better when she caught sight of the figure standing in the doorway of the lab. She dropped the remote and the plastic cracked against the bench, almost landing on top of her lens. She stood up from her stool, still staring at the door.

"What are you _doing _here?" she asked in absolute shock.

Standing in the lab doorway, wearing dark jeans and a fitted yellow shirt that brought out the deep tan of his skin and the green of his eyes, was Claude. His hands were tucked in his pockets and he was watching the TV in the lab curiously.

"I can summarize that for you," he offered, pulling a hand free to wave at the screen.

Byleth blinked.

"Almyran Royal Family announces change in the line of succession as Khalid Al-Qadir steps aside for older cousin, Arshan Al-Qadir."

Surprise blossomed across her face. "You abdicated?"

He shrugged and stepped into the lab. "I never wanted to be King. Honestly, I never had any intention of becoming king either."

Byleth sat down on her stool again but stayed facing him. "Claude, what are you doing here?" she asked again.

"I came here to tell you that I fucked up. Royally."

Byleth crossed her arms. "Not so royal anymore," she pointed out dryly.

Claude gave her a half-amused glare. "By, when I left things were fucked up."

She closed her eyes and exhaled warily. "That's one way of putting it," she agreed.

"Things between us got so twisted and messed up so quickly," he continued.

"If you're here to apologize, this is a shitty apology," she remarked shortly.

"You're right," he agreed. "As always." Claude walked further into the lab and studied the paper that was taped to the cabinet above where Byleth was working. It was the list of translators who had worked on the journal. "I would take everything Alan Steren has to say with a grain of salt," he suggested.

Byleth looked at the list and noted he had pointed out the second translator. Alan Steren had been recommended to her by the head of the Department of Linguistics. "Why?"

"He's done some pretty anti-Almyran translations of other works. I can't imagine he'll speak favourably of all of this information coming from an Almyran King."

Byleth considered that and glanced at the stack of notes by her computer. She had been struggling with one section where two translators had given her vastly different interpretations of an important war meeting. It was very possible that one of them had come from Steren.

"I'll keep that in mind," she agreed.

Claude didn't say anything for a moment as he skimmed over some of the other sheets she had pinned up. Despite having worked solidly for several months, the lab still looked like a hurricane had run through it.

"Did you come here to apologize or ask me about my research?" Byleth asked after a moment of nothing.

Claude sighed. "I really can't get one over on you, can I?"

Byleth rolled her eyes. "Slip a shitty apology by? No, you can't."

He turned towards her and Byleth was almost caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze. The emerald of his irises was practically burning right through her.

"I handled it poorly, but, Byleth, what I said to you still stands."

Her cheeks flamed suddenly and she buried her face in her hands to try to get her emotions under control. Why did he have to be so damn eloquent and why did he have to make her feel like a sixteen-year-old girl with a crush again?

"Why are you like this?" she muttered.

Claude laughed and Byleth's heart flipped a bit at the sound. "You make me nervous too, if that helps," he said gently. "I've never felt more like an idiot than I do around you."

She dropped her hands to her lap. "Let's review," she suggested. "First of all, we meet because you're a smartass student and I'm the TA for a course. We chat about my research and slowly start to talk about other things. We end up working on a project together for several months that results in us getting run off the road, jumped in an alley, and shot at in ancient ruins." She tapped a different finger for each of the horrible events they had survived. "I also find out you're the prince of a foreign nation and we then discover that I'm the reincarnated form of a former war leader who was totally married to the ancestor of one of your close friends."

"And somewhere in there, I discovered that I was crazy about you," Claude added helpfully.

Byleth bit her lip and stared at Claude. For as defensive as he had been when he had first come into the lab, he was being equally honest and open with her right now. "We're kind of a mess, Claude, and that doesn't even begin to evaluate everything going on behind the scenes."

He reached for her elbow and tugged her up so they were both standing. "I like messy," he said cheerfully. He brushed a piece of her loose hair behind her ear affectionately. "Sometimes messy is the truth and the honest truth is always the best part of any relationship or connection."

Byleth reached out and touched the hem of his shirtsleeve over his bicep. Claude's hand cupped her elbow, holding her hand and arm basically captive.

"I have my life's work ahead of me here," Byleth confessed.

"Would you be opposed if I told you I was planning on sticking around to do a Ph.D. in the History department?"

Byleth blinked. She leaned into him unconsciously. Despite the total chaos of the last 11 months, Byleth had been glad for Claude's support and cynicism and companionship. She had sorely missed him for the last four months when he was in Almyra.

"You're not leaving?"

Her father had left. Seteth and Flayn had left. Her undergraduate friends had scattered when they had graduated. Even the friends she made this year had mostly disappeared after they had graduated to pursue other interests.

"Unless you tell me I should, no, I don't think so," Claude replied.

His hand slid up her arm and then down her side to her waist. His other arm was somehow already there and Byleth's other hand landed on his chest, just over his heart. She could feel his heartbeat thrumming beneath her touch.

"You still haven't told me how you're feeling," he pointed out. His voice was soft and almost breathy as he held her close.

Byleth hummed. "And you still haven't said you were sorry."

Claude kissed her. His lips were warm as he pressed them to hers. Byleth slid one hand up into his messy dark locks and let the other rest over his heart as she kissed him back. Her lips parted and Claude took advantage of the action, pressing his weight against her until she backed up so she was trapped between the lab bench and his body. He finally pulled back to breathe and Byleth's heart fluttered at the dark, wanting look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said breathlessly.

"Shut up," Byleth said.

She kissed him again and tightened her arms around his neck. He grinned into the kiss and Byleth pulled back after a second.

"I'm in love with you," she said.

It was hard to remember the last time she had that she loved someone. Probably, it would have been to her father as he bled out in her arms. But, Claude made her feel light and fluttery and simultaneously heavy and irritated, but she felt human. She felt real and wanted and it felt like her choice and not some predetermined cycle where she was reliving someone else's life.

"It would be kind of awkward if you weren't, wouldn't it?"

"Shut it," she said.

"I love you too, Byleth." Claude's green eyes were bright and Byleth loved him. "Now, how can I make myself useful to you with all this chaos you've got around here."

Byleth grinned. "Thank you for offering."

* * *

_Almyran Royal Palace, Jodat, Almyra - 3 Garland Moon, 38 AU_

Hilda's heels clicked on the tiled palace floors as the servant escorted her to the king's office. The palace was different from the fortress in the Locket and different from Garreg Mach and from Castle Goneril and especially different from the Royal Palace in Fhirdiad.

The servant knocked on a pair of decorated wooden doors. "Lady Hilda Valentine Goneril for His Majesty, King Khalid."

There was a muffled call of 'enter' from in the room and Hilda pushed past the servant, letting herself into the office. The room reminded her almost immediately of Claude's study in the Riegan Dukedom and his old room in the monastery.

Her friend looked up from the paperwork he was filling out on his desk and smiled at her with the same trickster smile that had gotten her into so much shit over 40 years ago at the Officer's Academy.

"Hello, Hilda, I wasn't expecting to see you," Claude greeted pleasantly.

Hilda waved the servant away who was hovering at the door and he disappeared, shutting the door behind him. "Hello to you too, old friend."

Claude laughed and stood from his desk. "Oh don't say it like we're old yet, Hil. It hasn't been that long has it?"

"A few years," she pointed out.

Claude's smile dropped a few inches. "Well, it hasn't exactly been the easiest time for me to visit the Throat."

A ripple of sympathy crossed her expression. "You quelled it before it started, Claude. You said it yourself to me back during the war, Almyrans respect strength, not complacency. You'll be okay."

He looked past her to the portrait on his study wall. An Almyran woman with amber eyes and short-cropped black hair and a dancing smile. "It's still a shame that I lost Amal."

Hilda studied the portrait of the late Almyran queen. "You never loved her though, did you?"

"She was a close friend and someone I could trust. We might have married for convenience, but she was a dear friend, as are you, Lady Goneril."

Hilda wrinkled her nose. "Can't we just drop titles?"

He grinned and offered her his arm. "I have something to show you, Hil. If you'd be so kind as to indulge me?"

She slid her hand into it and patted his forearm lightly. "If you insist."

They walked in a comfortable silence from Claude's office to another wing of the palace into what looked like a gallery of some sort. Hilda stopped short when she saw what Claude had been looking to show her.

"She would _hate_ it," Hilda said instantly.

Claude laughed. "Absolutely. I think Dimitri actually would have tried to take my head off."

"I love it," Hilda said next.

"Me too," Claude agreed. "It's nice to see their faces from time to time. They would be proud of what has become of Fódlan. You all did good work."

Hilda squeezed his arm. "You helped."

"Maybe," he agreed. He stared up at the art before him. "Byleth said that we'd see each other again. I hope you know," he said, raising his voice a little, "I'll hold you too that, my friend."

Hilda rested her head against his shoulder and said nothing.

The world seemed to speak for itself, after all.

* * *

_Author's Note: I don't even know where to begin. This story. This story has been in my brain since like the middle of February, but I was like: "I don't have time to write that, it's too long!" I ended up publishing the first part in March and somehow, possibly almost entirely due to Social Distancing, I finished it. I don't feel like this was the perfect ending to the story, since there are probably things I didn't answer that people were curious about, but it's the ending I've settled on. _

_According to Google Docs, this story was 181 pages and over 71 000 words. That's... crazy. My other Fire Emblem: Three Houses multi-chapter fic was my longest completed story and this fic ended up being over 1.5 times the length of it. I... don't understand. _

_Major thanks go to tsunnychan on Tumblr for being a positive energy beacon for me and to the people who reviewed this fic and kept me wanting to keep pressing ahead with it. My Tumblr username is nicolewrites and I'm probably going to publish a more comprehensive final note and talk about some bonus content like things I considered including but didn't and so on in the next couple of days, but wow, I mostly just can't believe this fic is over. _

_I guess it's time to move this one from the in-progress to the complete folder. I've got more Fire Emblem one-shots on the horizon, so stay tuned everyone!_

_Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story, I couldn't have done it without you all._

_\- Nicole_


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